Hailey Slobodian: Pronghorn Greenhorn
In Saturday’s double header match against the University of Regina, the Pronghorns fielded two separate squads. The first was comprised primarily of greenhorns - first and second year players on the squad, and the second team was primarily comprised of Horns veterans in their third, fourth or fifth year of eligibility. Earlier this week, we spoke to Kaleigh Harris, the fourth year striker from the Horns' veteran squad. Today we had the opportunity to connect with Hailey Slobodian who played on the rookie team. Hailey is a second-year Horn, although she is in her first year of eligibility with USports and this will be the first year she’s been able to play competitively with the Horns squad due to the COVID disruption of the 2020-21 season. Hailey is thrilled to be back playing, "It’s nice to be back with the girls in an actual competitive environment,” Hailey says, “it’s nice to be working towards something. Last year we weren’t working towards playing, we had a few scrimmages but that was it. This year we’re going into our preseason and working towards being better and actually playing which is really nice.”
Like many players, the suspension of the 2020-21 season was a challenge. It was doubly so for Hailey being her first year at a school with no in-person classes and on a team with no games. “For me it was really tough.” Hailey says after thinking a minute. “I moved from Winnipeg. I moved just to play soccer. Not playing was extremely hard because it was the entire reason I came here. It was super challenging to find motivation.” Hailey managed through her COVID year and is back on the field now though. “It was really good.” She says of being back on the field. “It was nice to compare where our team was at against another university. We got to see what we need to do in order to be competitive against other teams. I think it [the game] was a good learning curve. We did well, which was nice.”
One of the impacts of having two years’ worth of first-year eligibility players this year means that the bench is fuller than in previous seasons, seeing 30 women on the Horn’s roster this year. Hailey says that the bigger squad is a great thing. “We had a few injuries right off the bat, so having a bigger roster was good so we could find players to fill those spots. It gives us a lot of depth in our team. Our younger players coming in can learn from the older players so that when we’re in their position we know what to do.” She and her team of younger players lost their game to Regina on Saturday, but were feeling really positive after the game. “I think a highlight was how competitive we were. We had done scrimmages thorouhgout the preseason against full teams and it was good to put it together against another team. We were competitive and have a good team. We know what we need to work on. It was eye opening to see what we need to do to beat a team like that and I think we can.” In particular, Hailey says the play of one of the team’s veterans, netminder Hanna Quinn . “Hanna our goalie stood our for me. She made some really good saves.”
Prior to moving to Lethbridge to join the Pronghorns, Hailey played for the Manitoba Rex and the Winnipeg Valor FC women’s programs. She says both teams are geared towards getting players scholarships and using their soccer ability as a stepping stone to their academic career. “I was taught in grade 9 and 10 how to email coaches and get recruited.” Hailey says. “I emailed the Horns coaches and came to the first few days of preseeason in 2019, and then I ended up signing.”
The change from Winnipeg has been different for Hailey. “Lethbridge is small by comparison.” She says. “It’s weird living in a smaller city. It’s nice I can drive 15 minutes and be everywhere. The scenery is nicer too. Winnipeg is really cold and the winters here are pretty nice.” Despite a challenging first year in the city, Hailey is looking forward to things picking up now that school and soccer are back in her life again. “The Horns team plays faster and the speed of play and competitiveness is higher.” Hailey says, comparing her Horns experience with that of her previous clubs. “Every player from my team back home signed with a Unviersity so it’s not that big a change. There was always a bigger goal we were working towards.” Hailey will be facing off against some of her former colleagues in the coming weeks, and we’ll check back with her to see how those games go.
Like many of her teammates, as a female athlete at the University level in Canada, Hailey is playing at the highest level available to her and her teammates. The recent Team Canada women’s soccer gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the call for a professional women’s league in Canada in the weeks following give her a lot of hope for the future of her sport. “I think it [the gold medal] means in Canada, women’s sport and women’s soccer are moving to the next level. It’s really positive and supporting athletes at my level to want to strive to something bigger. it brings Canadian socer to a whole another level.” On the topic of the professional women’s league, she adds, “I think it’d be awesome and it would be awesome if women in Canada got the opportunity. It’s great that women in Canada can stay in Canada and also be able to compete in the sports that we love.” Though it is still early days, we here at Lethbridge Sports are hopeful that we see a Canadian Women’s soccer league, and hopefully even a local Lethbridge team too!
As she looks back over her own career, Hailey credits her dad for helping her succeed. “My dad has definitely been a big impact. He’s always pushing me to do my best and coming to support me at my games. He would practice with me when I was little and help me get on more competitive teams. He tests me with cue cards and he’s just a big part of where I am today.”
Outside her athletics, Hailey has high goals she is working towards academically as well. She is taking neuroscience at UofL and intends to user her degree as a stepping stool into medical school. “It’s a challenge balancing my goals.” She admits. “But as long as you know your schedule ahead of time, when you can study, and of course, you can study on the bus, it’s about making time to make academics work along with your athletics so they blend together well.”
She wanted us to share with our readers that she wants you to: “Come to our home opener!” The Horns home opener is part of the triple header of games on September 18th, and is being hosted at University of Lethbridge Community Stadium. Kick-off is at 2pm.