Cathy Ross

Cathy Ross... speaks English... her mother Sharon was born in Saskatoon while her father Bob was born in Winnipeg... she was born at the hospital in New Westminster while her family was living in nearby Coquitlam... grew up participating in soccer, field hockey and softball... she was eight years old when she started playing soccer at Cape Horn... growing up, favourites included Pelé... earned a diploma in Recreation Leadership from Langara College in 1988... earned a degree in General Studies with a major in history from Simon Fraser University in 1992... began her career in law enforcement in 1993...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021... honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia... she was part of the first Canadian team to play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup (Sweden 1995), recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction...

represented Canada at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Sweden 1995... won a Concacaf silver medal with Canada (1991)… represented Canada at the World Invitational Women’s Tournament (Chinese Cup 1987) and International Women’s Football Tournament (China 1988)... one of six original members of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team in 1986 that also participated in Canada’s first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995 (Annie Caron, Carla Chin, Geri Donnelly, Charmaine Hooper, Michelle Ring and Cathy Ross)... she was the only player to feature in Canada’s first 24 international “A” matches from 1986 to 1991... career 34 international “A” appearances across 10 years from 1986 to 1995 with Canada Soccer's Women's National Team... when she left international football, she ranked tied for fourth in international “A” appearances with Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team...

club career in Canada... with Coquitlam United SC, a Canada Soccer National Championships winner (Jubilee Trophy in 1987)... a one-time British Columbia provincial championship winner (1987) and one-time Alberta Cup provincial championship winner (1990)... a one-time NAIA All-American (1990)...

wrote Sylvie Béliveau in 1995, “experienced player at the international level since she had played from 1986 to 1991... she proved to be able to handle an international game; her positioning, tackling skills and heading made her a starter even if she had not been playing for a few years”...

said Ross in 2021, “I was a good man marker and that was helpful to our Canadian team because we were mostly known as a defensive team in the early days... I also gave everything that I had and I think that was quite helpful that I could be counted on... we were all in it together and we didn’t want to let anyone down”... said Ross in 2021, “I was happy with being a stopper. (Coach Neil Turnbull) was good because he would have me as an attacking stopper, so I marked and then I would come up for set plays”... also said Ross in 2021, “when I came back in 1995, they had me step in for Janine Helland because she had a knee injury, so (coach Sylvie Béliveau) had me be the sweeper, which for me was like ‘oh my, (original sweeper) Janet Lemieux is supposed to be there, what are you doing sticking me there... so I had some big shoes to fill”...

said Ross in 2021 of wearing the Canada shirt, “it was everything. It was like putting on a super hero suit. You put that on, you represented your country, and it was all about going out there and doing a good job. You had a responsibility when you put on that shirt, not just to your country, but to your teammates... When you put on that jersey, you just turned into something that you were very proud of and you wanted your country to be proud and your teammates to be proud”...

said Suzanne Muir in 2021 of teammate Cathy Ross, “she was a veteran of the team, tenacious defender, supportive of teammates, very goal oriented... she was just a committed player who raised people up”...