Heading into her third season of play in United Women’s Soccer (UWS), 21-year-old Emily Burns is as excited to start the season as she’s ever been.

Fresh off her experience with Calgary Foothills WFC’s run to the semifinals of the 2018 UWS National Playoffs, the goalkeeper is ready to backstop her team to the championship.

“I definitely want to see us come out of our conference and make it to the final four championships again like last year,” Burns said. “I want to see us get a better result than we did last year because we came up a bit short when we had such a great season and it kind of ended bitterly. I’d like to see us go all the way and try to win it this year.”

Coming off her fourth year as the goalkeeper of the MacEwan University Griffins, where she was named a second-team Canada West all-star, Burns looks set to help bring Foothills WFC to success and this year she has the starting position all to herself.

Despite being named the 2017 UWS West Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and earning a clean sheet while making four saves in Foothills’ first game of 2018, when Canadian national team goalkeeper and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Stephanie Labbe joined the team, Burns’ workload for the season was cut down.

“I played in the first game last year against Salt Lake and [Labbe] ended up coming after that,” Burns said.

Labbe was infamously banned from playing in PDL action with Calgary Foothills FC in 2018, so she joined Foothills’ women’s team instead.

“She would train with us once or twice a week and then she trained with the boys as well,” she said. “When she was with us, me and the other goalkeeper Sarah Dilling trained with her. I travelled every game that Steph was there and backed her up, so I was always her number two. But [it was] super cool to play and be around her and be in her presence because she knows what she’s doing and she’s a great role model to look up to.”

Burns was able to use her time with the national team keeper as a learning experience and as a way to become mentally stronger.

“A big thing I learned from her was intensity because she was just intense every single second,” Burns said. “Even if she made a mistake, she just acted like it didn’t happen and got ready for the next play. Mentally she’s super tough and I think that’s something I need to work on in my own game. Looking at her, how she handled things and how she carried herself was a big thing for me to try and learn how to get that professional way about me.”

Although Labbe took over the starting position, Burns was still able to play four games throughout the season, including in the National Playoffs, and isn’t resentful for being bumped as the starter.

“It was a really great opportunity for me to be able to train with her and learn what I could in the short time spent alongside her since she is the top goalkeeper in Canada,” Burns said. “I think any athlete competing at the highest levels will always try to work hard for that starting position and every athlete wants to see that role for themselves, but that’s not always the case. In those cases, I think it’s about learning from the person ahead of you and being ready to perform when you are called upon.

“She is the starting goalkeeper for the Canadian national team, so I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be back up to and her schedule last summer still allowed for me to get some games in because she was away some weekends for national team commitments. Then, at the end of the season, she had an opportunity to play in Sweden, so this gave me the chance to play in the [National Playoffs]. I believe life is about opportunities and it’s about taking those opportunities and making the most of them.”

While some Foothills WFC supporters may be disappointed to not have Labbe this season, Burns brings a strong resume of her own to the club.

In addition to her other accolades, Burns was also named a second-team Canada West all-star and MacEwan’s most outstanding player in 2016 and she also holds a number of MacEwan school records.

She has also played for Canada on the international stage, albeit in a slightly different sport.

Burns represented her country twice at the World University Futsal Championship, both in Brazil in 2016 where Canada earned a fourth-place finish, and in Kazakhstan in 2018 where Canada finished sixth.

“Both [tournaments] were super amazing opportunities to play internationally like that and to represent your country is always a huge honour, but just playing so far away from home with the best of the best girls in the country in futsal was a really cool experience,” Burns said. “And again, playing against these other girls who most of them play professionally in their countries for their futsal national teams, so it was a super high level of soccer and it was just really cool to be in that environment.”

Although there are aspects of both sports that she enjoys, Burns prefers soccer.

“Futsal is obviously a lot faster, so I think I get a lot more action, but I’d have to say that I’m more passionate about soccer because of the whole game and everything surrounding it.”

Looking towards the start of the season, Burns is looking forward to playing expansion side Queen City United SC and having another Canadian team in the league.

“I think it’s honestly great that there’s another team in Canada just because we’ve been the only team in Canada for the last two years,” she said. [Because of that] I think that we’re underdogs, no one really knows us [and] they might think we shouldn’t be in the league. I think that having another one will really give us that foundation and show that Canadians can play.

“I’m super excited that they’re in the league. It sounds like they’ve signed a lot of girls from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina, so I probably know a couple of the girls from playing against them in university. They should be a decent side.”

For her own future, Burns plans to play her fifth and final year at MacEwan and see where life takes her.

She hopes to play soccer at the professional level but is also open to futsal and becoming a lawyer or teacher.

Burns hopes to have the opportunity for herself and other women to play professional soccer in Canada, as well.

“If we can get [a women’s] league going and give the Canadian women a chance to play locally like the men have the chance to do, I think that would be awesome and that a lot of girls would be into that. To play in your own country is huge, so I definitely hope that it’ll happen. If it was possible, I’d definitely be interested in it.”

For now, though, Burns’ sights are solely set on the UWS season and helping to bring Foothills WFC success again.

Calgary Foothills WFC is looking to win the West Conference for the second straight year and begin their season on Sunday, May 26 when they visit Regina to take on Queen City United SC at 1:00 PM CST/MDT.

Like what you read? Become a Patron.

Jacob Noseworthy jacobnoseworthy@outlook.com Jacob is a 21-year-old political science major at the University of Victoria, but he is also setting his sights towards a minor in journalism. He joined Northern Starting Eleven to combine his passions of soccer and journalism and to help promote and grow the sport in Canada. NSXI gives him the opportunity to refine and grow his writing skills, while also growing his love of the beautiful game. When he’s not studying, Jacob can usually be found watching soccer, whether he is supporting Vancouver Whitecaps FC from across the Georgia Strait or at Centennial Stadium cheering on the UVic Vikes.

Share with a Friend Facebook

Twitter

Reddit

LinkedIn

WhatsApp

Telegram

Email



Like this: Like Loading...