LEBANON, Tenn. – The institution has produced more than 80 U.S. congressmen, 13 governors, three ambassadors, a pair of justices of the Supreme Court, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and one heck of an Edmonton women’s soccer team.

It’s Cumberland University where seven Edmonton-area girls ended up being the core group that went from being an unmitigated disaster to No. 1 ranked NAIA soccer team.

With a 71-26-3 record for previously pathetic Cumberland, the girls made three straight trips to the NAIA Sweet 16, advanced to the Elite Eight and reached No. 1 ranked status in 2014.

Cumberland is a place that has existed since 1842, with many buildings older than Edmonton itself. And it’s about as small as a college campus as you can have and still qualify as being a campus. You can drive around the entire campus and see everything in about 15 minutes. It takes two and a half minutes to do a lap around the perimeter of the place.

Located about 45 kilometres East of Nashville, Cumberland is basically about four blocks by four blocks and has a student population of 1,099. Everything is within a short walk, from the dorm to any academic buildings to the cafeteria and even to the soccer facility that holds maybe 800.

Led by coach Gavin McKinney of Sherwood Park, seven girls from the Edmonton area – Renee LaRose, Lindsay Kitson, Kaitlin Phillips, Taylor Nay, Olivia Chu, Dayle Weslosky and Kailin Kisiloski – plus three girls from Newfoundland and one from B.C. have been the Cumberland Canadians.

Under the two-time conference coach of the year, itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy Cumberland produced three conference players of the year, 13 All-Americans and a staggering 21 conference scholar athletes in women’s soccer.

“It was almost like a little Team Canada down here. It was almost our full 11. It’s been unique that we had so many Canadian kids. That kind of became our identity. It was not only rare it was a bit special, too, because of where we started and where we ended up,” said McKinney.

Recruited along with Katie Ongaro for that first season, Renee LaRose stayed for the full journey.

“Katie and I just really liked Gavin as a coach and an individual. We never went to Cumberland on a visit, so we really didn’t know what we were up against,” said LaRose.

“It was, uh, definitely a team to rebuild. We were horrible.

“If I had come here for a visit, I probably wouldn’t have elected to come here. It was horrendous. It was really, really bad. But Gavin started to recruit, primarily in Edmonton, and it gradually got better every year.

“This season the entire starting lineup was primarily Canadian. This year was the best year ever. It was awesome to be ranked No. 1,” said LaRose.

“It’s kind of unbelievable where we came from, how bad we were in the beginning and how good we became,” said Kitson.

“And you’d never think some little school in Tennessee would have all these Canadians on the team,” she added.

Part of it is simple the size and culture of the institution.

“Cumberland is obviously very small, but it’s nice,” said LaRose. “It’s not overwhelming like a lot of other universities are. It’s a private school and kind of like a little family here, a nice little community-type thing. And Cumberland is huge on sports.”

The girls all rave about the private university and the experience.

“It’s pretty small. And that’s why I love it,” said keeper Kitson, Cumberland’s first ever NAIA All-American.

“Everyone there supports each other. You can see all the other athletes go to every game there. The baseball guys come watch our games. The volleyball girls come watch our games. We all want to see each other succeed and boost each other up.”

Kitson said it’s a team even in the classroom.

“Our coach convinced us to sign a team goal to have above a 3.0 grade point average. I tutored half my team in math. I helped football players, baseball players …

“It’s been an experience of a lifetime. It’s really showed just how much you can accomplish if you believe in yourself and your teammates. If a girl had this opportunity and came and asked me, I’d say definitely go.”

The story effectively began when McKinney was recruited out of Sherwood Park to play in Lambuth, another small NAIA college in Tennessee. Staying to earn his masters degree, he started in coaching as an assistant at Bethel in the same conference.

“Cumberland was always at the bottom end of the conference. I was 27 and they hired me because they had the belief I could go in there and turn the program around,” said the son of Pat McKinney, a longtime soccer coach in Sherwood Park who has been Gavin’s No. 1 scout and local coach contact guy.

“Within Tennessee alone, there’s 23 women’s soccer college programs, so it’s tough to get the top players within the state, especially at such a small school. I knew I’d have to go outside. I went with players from home because I knew the standard was very, very good in Alberta. The players and parents were always comfortable because I was from the same place as them.”

Initially there wasn’t much to work with.

“Cumberland was winning about three games a season.

“Renee, Katie and Michelle Ward from Newfoundland were my first three Canadian recruits for that first year. That first season we won nine games, so we tripled the wins. By bringing those three Canadians in we started a good foundation, changed the culture and from then on made additions every year and saw massive improvements. We ended up in double digits in Canadians.”

McKinney ended up with the Edmonton Seven, three girls from Newfoundland and one from B.C..

“That second year at Cumberland was maybe the key year. We made some big additions in Kaitlin Phillips, Lindsay Kitson - both from Edmonton - and Shauna Gilpin from Newfoundland. Taylor Nay came the year after that.

“By the time that third year came along, we had a very strong team. We shot right up in the rankings then. We won our conference tournament that year. Our record was 19-3, so we set program records for almost everything that season. We actually led the nation in goals scored.

“Olivia Chu was a really big signing for us, coming from Canada’s U-17 program. We won our regular season conference title and made it into the top 10 and added another Edmonton player in Dayle Weslosky. And this past year, our most successful year, we added Kailin Kisiloski from Spruce Grove.

“Out of our starting 11, nine were Canadian kids,” he said.

McKinley said he knows his girls have loved the experience and, just as importantly, that Cumberland has not only loved them for the success they’ve brought to the school but the scholars they’ve become.

“All the professors know who they are,” he laughed.

“Their performance in the classroom has been really, really excellent. It’s a real testament to those Canadian kids. They all came down on soccer scholarships but they saw the big picture.

“Katlin Phillips is one of the kids that stands out. She had our highest grade point average. Dayle Weslosky currently has a 4.0. All of them have been very, very good in the classroom.”

McKinney says they’ve been responsible for providing him with a new challenge. He’s just accepted the job as head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, an NCAA Div. 1 school.

“Because of the success we’ve had over the last five years, you get recognition. Their program is very similar to Cumberland when I took over. They were 1-17-1 last year. It’s a complete rebuild and that’s why I was an attractive candidate. That success doesn’t happen without the Edmonton girls.”

So if you’re a female high school soccer player, heads up.

“I still will be recruiting out of Alberta. Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll still be looking for special players to make a difference,” he said.

RENEE LAROSE

Trans-South Freshman of the Year in 2010, Larose is an Archbishop O’Leary grad voted first team All-Mid-South and third team NAIA All American in 2012 and second team All Conference in 2013. Larose was first team All Conference and honourable mention NAIA All American in 2014. She earned Mid-South Scholar Athlete honours in 2013 and 2014.

LINDSAY KITSON

In 2014, Kitson became first Cumberland player ever to be voted a first team NAIA All American. A goalkeeper out of Archbishop O’Leary, she was selected second team NAIA All American in 2012, the first All-American in program history to that point. A third team NAIA All-American in 2013, Kitson was twice named Mid-South Scholar Athlete and three times the all-star keeper in the conference.

KAITLIN PHILLIPS

A St. Francis Xavier High School grad, Kaitlin Phillips was voted first team All Conference on the field for a second consecutive season with Mid-South Scholar Athlete status to go with it in 2014. She was also a second team Academic All-American, won honourable mention All-American status

TAYLOR NAY

A Sherwood Park product out of Archbishop Jordan, Taylor Nay was one of three 2014 Women’s Soccer NAIA Scholar Athletes out of Cumberland along with Phillips. An attacking midfielder, Nay was first team All Conference in 2012. Voted Conference player of the year in 2013, she too became an All-Mid-South Scholar Athlete.

OLIVIA CHU

A right wing forward who also plays as an attacking midfielder, Olivia Chu is a graduate of Strathcona High School. She was voted freshman of the year honours to go with first team All Conference and second team All American. In 2014 Chu was first team All Conference, a Mid-South scholar athlete and NAIA honourable mention All American.

DAYLE WESLOSKY

Out of Archbishop O’Leary High School, Wesloski is a sophomore. A defender, she won 2014 Mid-South Scholar Athlete honours.

KAITLEN KISLOSKI

A midfielder out of Spruce Grove Composite, Kisloski is a freshman who keeps the Edmonton-area tradition of supplying soccer talent to Cumberland alive.