WOLFPAAC Doubles Soccer Roster | CTV News

Girls soccer is growing in popularity.

“A lot more girls have expressed interest and it’s amazing because with more teams in the league it’s given us more chances to play,” said Jessica Knight, 16, captain of the London WOLFPAAC U19 team.

Just two years after the creation of WOLFPAAC, the list has doubled in size.

“In the fall, we had 12 girls, then last spring we had 17, and now this year, 25. Really big growth,” said Scott Knight, founder and president of WOLFPAAC.

More girls mean more opportunities and success. Without having to play the entire game in attack and defense, players can have set positions. That leads to more depth and rest.

“It’s a lot nicer because it means we can do more things as one versus one and it’s a much more specific workout for us,” Jessica said.

That translated into success on the field.

London WOLFPAAC head coach Shawn Wilson gives his girls a pep talk midway through their game against the Clarington Kings on June 29, 2024 at 1Password Park in St. Thomas, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“We play hard and we work hard,” said player Maia Tedesco. “We’re a tight-knit group and everything we do is lift each other up. If it means we have hard training, some of us are injured, but we work together.”

WOLFPAAC hasn’t allowed a point in league play as they head into the playoffs on Saturday, July 6th at 6:30pm at 1Password Park in St. Thomas, Ont. against the London Jr. Mustangs.

The winner of that contest heads to Ottawa for the championship game on July 13.

Coached by Shawn Wilson, WOLFPAAC play to dominate their opponent, but are also respectful and fair.

“He’s an amazing coach,” Tedesco said. “He’s so good at just teaching us the basics and helping us build and build and build. Because of this, this year I was much better from the start than last year at the start. It’s great to see that we’re expanding our knowledge of the sport as well.”

CTV News attended the first game of 2022 and it’s easy to see how comfortable these girls have become with contact.

“It’s really exciting to see the new girls as they come in,” Scott Knight said. “At first they’re a bit concerned about contact, but two or three practices and all of a sudden you can just see a click. Then it’s like they start talking about not playing other sports and just stick with football.”

The next goal is to maintain that momentum. With some girls ready to graduate from this program, Scott’s goal is to establish a senior WOLFPAAC team to compliment the U19 and U15 teams.

Women’s soccer is also growing at the collegiate level with the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association.

The Western Mustangs have won the last two football championships.

“I think the college level now has contact flag (football) in almost every school in Ontario and at the National Championships this year, as well as flag at the 2028 Olympics,” Scott said.

It will only increase the exposure of sports for women and girls.

“What we’re really looking for now is to expand the administrative base,” Scott said. “We’re looking for women who want to coach, girls who want to be coaches and we’re looking for referees. We want to expand women’s participation in sports as much as we can.”

While the program looks at the big picture, the players think short term. They plan to be in the title game in two weeks and play for their second consecutive Ontario Women’s Football League title.

“It’s been a big journey and a lot has changed with the league,” Tedesco said. “It’s so great to see it expand and see more girls interested in it. I’m so happy I could say I was one of the OGs (original girls).”