After significant changes happened to the team in the off-season, Oakville's Blue Devils FC women's team kicks off the 2023 League1 Ontario Season Sunday.
A complete overhaul of both the player roster and key members of the coaching staff took place over the off-season. Both the head coach and the assistant coach are new to the team this season and only five players are returning to the field from last season.
Back in January, Blue Devils FC welcomed Carli Tingstand as Head Coach of the Ontario League1 women’s team. Tingstand, who was a former player with the women's Blue Devil team is ready to take on the season ahead of her.
"I think for me as a first-year head coach, and still being quite young, and for my personal development coaches, it's an exciting opportunity, it'll be a brilliant challenge for me, and really exciting to take it on," says Tringstand. "I think the important pieces is the learning and the challenge for me and the progression of my career as well."
Center midfielders Jen Romero and Maria Poveda, center midfielder/winger Laura Twiddle, fullback Leanne Forker and goalkeeper Elisa Lapadula are all familiar faces returning to the field for another season with the team. With only two practices for the new and old faces to get to know each other before the first kick on Sunday leaves a big challenge for Tingstand.
"I think there'll be a freshness and new faces," Tingstad continues. "We're hoping that we can kind of turn that into a positive."
She also says it build from, "the experience of the players who are returning, but also leaning into the experiences of players coming from elsewhere. The challenge of trying to get a whole bunch of individuals that have never played together before to click as early as possible. That will be a big challenge."
The team finished 15th in the regular season last year. Scoring 19 points across five wins, 10 losses and four ties. Tingstad is optimistic that this year will be better and bring more people to watch them play.
"I think if we can make that clicking, we could have some pretty promising performances and hopefully excite the fans that come watch."
The Blue Devils woman's team season opener is this Sunday, April 30, 2023 against the North Mississauga Soccer Club at Sheridan College’s Trafalgar campus located in Oakville. Kick-off is at 2 p.m.