Kaleigh Harris and Pronghorns Exhibit Great Potential
On August 28th, the Pronghorn Women’s Soccer team engaged in an preseason double-header of exhibition games against the visiting Regina Cougars. Playing at Suggitt field at the UofL Community Stadium, the two teams each fielded two full squads from their current rosters and split the affair evenly. Both teams came away with 4-0 wins over each other, dividing the double header to go 1-1 in the exhibition series. 4th year Horn forward Kaleigh Harris netted the first Horns goal of the series, coming in the first 5 minutes of the second game of the day to give the Horns a 1-0 lead in their second match. The goal was Kaleigh’s first as a Pronghorn. Kaleigh spent some time with us after the match to talk about getting back on the field after nearly 2 years.
“It was great!” Kaleigh tells us. “I’m excited about this season. Things are different than they were before the break. We now have thirty girls, which is a bit of a change.” Kaleigh refers to the off-season changes for this year that allow the clubs to accommodate a larger bench roster this season because of the 2 years of incoming “first year” players. “It’s exciting and we’re all so happy to be back out there playing. It was a long past couple of years with COVID, really crazy and so many unknowns. It’s so nice to be back playing again.”
“The coaches were in talks about how to divide the teams before the game. Game one, we saw all our new players out there.” Kaleigh explains how COVID recruitment has worked and that there are two distinct groups of “first year” recruits this year - “COVID girls that didn’t get a season when they joined last year, and then second wave girls who were brought on this year.” This is one of several oddities that mark the return to play now that COVID has passed, but Kaleigh says it’s a positive change. “It was great to see them playing and working hard. That first game was 4-0 Regina but they worked hard and it was a hard game in the heat.” The players had a chance to cool down and regroup before the second game, which saw its start time delayed from 2pm to 2:30pm. “In the second game with the delay the girls were all fired up and ready to go. We gave the Cougars a run for their money and surprised them with our different style of play. We got the result we were looking for and excited to get the win.”
Kaleigh netted her first goal in her USports career, with teammates Grace Taylor picking up the 2nd goal and Lucy Maren scoring twice to round out the Horns 4-0 win. “It feels runreal,” Kaleigh says of her goal, “it’s been a long couple of years so it was my first goal in Usports and as a Pronghorn. It got everyone going and gave the team a lot of momentum. The team took that and we were rewarded with 3 more goals.”
Kaleigh and the Horns are thankful for the extended exhibition series this year as an opportunity to get back into playing form. She tells us that COVID has had a mixed impact. “Excitement and drive been' improved since COVID. Our bodies are not used to this high demand with the preseason. We’re easing into it and coaches are doing a good job of strengthening us and making sure our bodies are ready to endure all the hard training. We’re fired up and ready for the season.”
The downtime has also given the team time to work their system and field a strong team this season. Kaleigh shared her thoughts about the current team. “I think we compete very well. We keep the high intensity up. We’re all competing for a spot every game, and the attitudes and positivity of the new players is awesome. The COVID girls [rookies] get to experience in-person school and being an actual Pronghorn athlete. This year is really a clean slate for everyone. I’m very excited for everyone.”
In addition to the excitement of a post-COVID season, the women’s soccer program is gaining extra attention following Canada’s Gold Medal win in Women’s Soccer at the Tokyo Olympics. “The Olympics opened a lot of people’s eyes to women’s sports, especially soccer. I think it was one of the most watched Olympic gold medal games in Canada. I think it’s incredible it’s a women’s sports team bringing home gold. I’m looking forward that bringing more fans and inspiring more girls to get into the school programs. We had the most young players showing interest and wanting to play at the next level at our intake camp. It’s really great to see that many female athletes.”
Kaleigh is a 4th year member of the Pronghorns taking a Kinesiology degree at the University of Lethbridge. Kaleigh hopes to get into occupational therapy upon graduating. Her “game plan” at this stage is to “play soccer, complete my degree at UofL, and go wherever I can get in for occupational therapy.”
Kaleigh was originally recruited to the Pronghorns after being scouted at a local tournament in her home Vancouver Island league. “I played for Riptide on Vancouver Island”, Kaleigh says, “the [Horns] previous coaches scouted me from there and offered me a position.” The move to Lethbridge has given Kaleigh many opportunities, but it’s been an adjustment. “It’s different with the weather.” Kaleigh laughs. “Back in Vancouver Island it never gets below 2 degrees. It gets cold and the wind here is unreal. The cold temperatures were a shock to the system and I still don’t think I’m used to it now. I’ve enjoyed my stay here and look forward to finishing out my degree here in Lethbridge.”
Kaleigh credits her academic and athletic success up to this point to the support she received from her grandparents. "My grandparents have been a huge supporter throughout my years in soccer. Back home, whenever we would drive 2.5 hours to play or practice we always stayed at their place. They always came to my games and my granpda would give me his analysis of my play - he had been a player and ref himself. They’ve been great supporters and continue to ask about my games and are a huge part of my soccer career. I hope they’ll get out to one of my games this season.”
Kaleigh has high hopes for the Horns season this year, and sees strength in the program to go farther than previous seasons. “I hope to make it to the next round of playoffs. In the past we’ve never made it past first round. My goal for our team is to make it past the first round, ideally nationals would be amazing, but hoping we can go all the way.”
We wrapped up the interview by asking Kaleigh if she had anything she wanted to say to our readers. “I think that if you follow our program on instagram that would be awesome, and if anyone’s out there who wants to watch some soccer, come watch our home games. We can use all the support we can get.” Our team at Lethbridge Sports can confirm that you’re in for solid quality soccer and the difference that having full stands can make to the energy level of the players. If you’d like to follow them on Instagram, the team is “uoflwomenssoccer”. Their home opener is part of the Horns triple header return-to-play day (WSOC/MSOC/WRUG) on September 18th.