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UFV Cascades women’s soccer team adds five athletes

Five high school athletes rounds up 2022 recruiting class for program
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The UFV Cascades women’s soccer program added five athletes for the 2022 season. (Dan Kinvig/UFV Athletics)

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer program has added five high school talents to the team for the 2022 season.

Head coach Niko Marcina’s latest group of signees includes a trio of locals – Maya Cuerrier (Vancouver), Kayla Tallarico (Burnaby) and Luciana Andrews (Coquitlam) – alongside a pair of players from Ontario in Dawn Nansumba (Scarborough) and Remy De Lorenzi (Sault Ste. Marie).

Cuerrier, a 5-7 centre back, starred on the club soccer scene, first with Vancouver Metro FC, and then with the TSS Rovers, where she was part of an Umbro Cup tournament title-winning squad in 2018. She also had success in school soccer, helping her Churchill Secondary squad win a silver medal at the Vancouver city championships in 2018.

“Maya is very tidy in possession, and she’s very strong defensively,” Marcina said. “She has the athletic ability to compete with the senior-level players in the conference immediately. She’ll definitely help us prevent goals against as a result of her aerial presence and her ability to recover.”

Maya Cuerrier (2022 Grad) from tss on Vimeo.

Tallarico, a 5-5 midfielder, began playing soccer at age four with Cliff Avenue United, and spent time with Burnaby District Metro SC before joining her current club, Coquitlam Metro-Ford, in 2019. She also excelled with her school soccer team, helping the Notre Dame Jugglers win the B.C. Catholic schools championship in 2019.

“Kayla is a very intelligent centre-mid who should make an immediate impact in her first season,” Marcina said. “She has the athleticism to be effective on the offensive front for our team, and defensively, she’ll be able to compete against some of the stronger players in our conference.”

Andrews, a 5-3 winger, played with Tallarico at Coquitlam Metro-Ford and she also found consistent success on the school soccer scene. She helped her St. Thomas More Knights win the B.C. AA championship in 2019, and was a tournament all-star at the Centennial kick-off tournament in March.

“Luciana has the ability to go at players and cross the ball in with both feet,” Marcina said. “She also has the unique ability to score goals from a variety of distances, which will hopefully add a lot of offensive presence to our team this season.”

Nansumba, a 5-4 winger, co-captained the Lowell Girls’ Secondary School squad in Uganda in 2017, winning top scorer and best footballer awards. She went on to win an East Region Soccer League title with Ottawa South United at the U16 level in 2021, and currently suits up for the club’s U18 side.

“Dawn has a very high soccer IQ, which will add value to our offence,” Marcina said. “As an attacking wide player, she has the ability to take players on and score goals for our program this season.”

De Lorenzi, a 5-4 forward, joined Nansumba at Ottawa South United, helping her squad win several tournaments and a league title last summer. She also had success in high school soccer, winning a city title with St. Mary’s College in 2019 and earning MVP honours at multiple tournaments and an athlete of the year award in 2018.

“Remy is an attacking wide player who has the ability to create opportunities at the offensive end for our team,” Marcina said, “and she has a work ethic that fits in with our environment.”

Marcina said he’s pleased with all five recruits.

“This group definitely has a level of work ethic that our team will embrace,” Marcina stated. “They will add value to our program and continue the current progress we’ve made in the past year.”



Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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