CORNWALL — A three-year veteran with the Ottawa Fury Professional Development Academy is hoping the experience will lead to big opportunities on the soccer pitch.

It already has.

Micaela Wylie-Arbic, 17, of Cornwall, is just back from Bradenton, just south of Tampa Bay in Florida, where the Fury women’s U-20 team competed in the heavily-scouted North American finals.

"We’re a young team, we competed well,” Wylie-Arbic said of a tournament experience that saw the Fury go 0-3, despite putting a scare in the eventual event champion by taking a 1-0 lead over Kalamazoo, Michigan, in round-robin play before going on to a 3-1 loss.

It was Wylie-Arbic’s second trip to Florida for soccer.

Two years ago she was called up by an older age group team, the Fury U-16 that played in the North American youth championships.

Next season will be her fourth with the Fury, and it’ll be critical: Wylie-Arbic is heading into Grade 12 at St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Cornwall, and she wants to continue her soccer career at the varsity level.

"Playing in the U.S. is a goal of mine, but also playing in Canada would be good,” said Wylie-Arbic, who’s played a lot of positions for the Fury in 2013, including some time early on at the striker position.

She since settled back into her centre fullback spot, and her strong defending has been leading to conversations with recruiters.

"I’ve talked to a lot of schools, but I don’t know where I want to go yet,” she said.

Wylie-Arbic is well-travelled, already.

The Fury played in a four-team league this summer that included two squads in Massachusetts and one in New Brunswick, and the Ottawa-based team came out on top in the New England division to qualify for those nationals down south.

The Fury recorded a 4-1-1 record in six season games. It’s not an extensive schedule, but there are tournaments too, and games against other Fury clubs, and plenty of practices and training events.

On average, she estimated, there are two to three trips to Ottawa each week during peak season in summer for Fury committments — but it’s easier now that Wylie-Arbic can drive herself there from Cornwall.

"It’s a lot, and we train year-round, but it’s been so worth it to play (for the Fury),” said Wylie-Arbic, who for several seasons worked on her soccer skills in the SD&G Blazers program.

One of Micaela’s biggest soccer supporters is her mom, Sherry Wylie-Arbic, who noted that the success of the Bradenton trip wasn’t measured in wins and losses.

"It was a great experience for her, and very challenging soccer-wise,” Sherry said.

Micaela began her Fury experience in 2011, and was named the U-15 team’s most valuable player at the end of that campaign.