SPARTANS & AIA HAVE SUCCESS ON PARAGUAY TOUR

Women’s Soccer
Sunday, June 1, 2008
AIA Paraguay Tour

SPARTANS & AIA HAVE SUCCESS ON PARAGUAY TOUR

LANGLEY, British Columbia – An Athletes in Action women’s soccer team, which features six current or former players from Trinity Western University, are proving successful both on and off the pitch on their 10 day tour of Paraguay. The touring team, which is comprised of university players from Canada and the USA, defeated Paraguay’s U17 team, which qualified for the U17 World Cup in New Zealand, 2-1.

“It was an awesome experience to play against good South American soccer teams, and to win today is a bonus,” said Spartan Becca Ferguson (Calgary) of the win, who played all 90 minutes at right midfield. “The trip so far has been amazing. The fact that I am here is a gift from God and the opportunity to build relationships with the other players and coaches has been incredible."

Four other Spartans started in the game, all of them on the back line: left back Erin Marie-Higgins (Surrey, B.C.), who just graduated from TWU, center backs Kayla Dilling (Winnipeg) and Kayleen Davison (Maple Ridge, B.C.), and right back Heather Stevenson (Newport, Calif.).

As good as the win was, according to Spartans head coach Graham Roxburgh, who is coaching the team, the work the team is doing off the pitch is even more important. They have been able shared their faith with all four teams they’ve played so far, and have seen a great response from both the Paraguayan players and the fans, as well as others they’ve had a chance to befriend.

The Athletes In Action team will play four more matches on their tour, which started May 27th, and wraps up June 10th. Besides the matches, the group runs camps and clinics for local churches and communities, and they’ve also donated 30 bags of sports gear and equipment.

This is the fourth year Athletes in Action has done this tour, and the third year that TWU athletes have participated. For more information, visit www.athletesinaction.com.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2009-09-03
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca