The list of recruits continues to grow for the 2020-21 edition of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women's soccer program.
Head coach Mark Pennington has added Edmonton, Alberta native Hannah Clarke to his roster.  She becomes the eighth recruit the WolfPack have signed for the upcoming Canada West regular season.

The 5'3" Clarke attends St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton and is a member of the Victoria Soccer club (EIYSA) and the Victoria Major women's team.  She is a full back and will be taking courses at Thompson Rivers aimed at earning a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree.

"For many years now, it's been my dream and ultimate goal to play university soccer," Clarke says.  " Originally, I reached out to many schools but it didn't take long for my list to narrow and for certain schools to rise to the top of my list. Thompson Rivers was one of those schools. It has a great avenue for sports psychology (her ultimate goal) and its super cool and exciting that the women's soccer program is being reshaped.   I was also drawn to the TRU program because of its coaching staff.  First, I met coach Bell (Mark)  at a tournament in Kamloops. I thought he was very nice and approachable.  Then, at the Shawnigan Lake ID camp, I was fortunate to be coached by coach Pennington several times throughout the week.  I really like his coaching style and he ended up being my favourite coach at the end of the week."


She believes that one of her main strengths is to join the attack. Clarke admits it will be a step up in competition moving to the Canada West."U SPORTS has so many talented and experienced players and as I transition from youth/women's soccer to University level soccer there will definitely be adjustments made to my game. For example, I know that the speed of the game increases at this level and I can imagine that I will have to learn to adjust to the tempo".
Rick Haxby has coached Clarke for a number of years at various levels and is currently her bench boss with the Victoria Major women's team.  " She played well this past season. I was really pleased with her progress and the fact we had an unbeaten season speaks volumes. I feel that Hannah will have a quick adjustment to Canada West. In my opinion she is just as good or better than the current fullbacks at either MacEwan or the University of Alberta. "

He adds, "She could get a little physically stronger but the Major League she plays in here has a number of current Canada West and former professionals and she hasn't looked out of place. Heather will be excellent in community she is personable and is involved with coaching our youth teams her attitude is great and nice personality. Hannah is a player who always wants to improve and it is a pleasure to coach her. You have a diamond in the rough we will miss her while she is away but  ,wish her all the best and there is a place for her when she returns."

Says Coach Pennington about his latest recruit, " Hannah plays a position we need to strengthen. She is feisty, got a good soccer IQ. She can get up and down the wing and can defend.  She has all the tools to be a good player. It will take her time to adapt like most recruits coming in.  The upside of Hannah is really good. Hannah is the type of recruit that we want to bring in: with talent levels that will improve our squad at the same time as providing depth to our current roster. She had some opportunities to go elsewhere. She decided this was the place for her and the program that she wanted to be a part of.  We are recruiting not only super players but super people.  Hannah is one of those people who want to grow our program both on and off the field. She ticks all the boxes on what I am looking for."

Clarke  also excited to move to Kamloops. " I have visited TRU's campus twice now, and both experiences were amazing. The campus is awesome and it's facilities are very nice, especially hillside stadium. I absolutely love the mountains, and I am super excited that TRU is surrounded by them. Kamloops has always been one of my favourite tournament destinations and I'm super excited that I will be able to become part of the community. The city is beautiful and it's people seem very nice. Overall, I'm excited to explore TRU's beautiful campus, and the city of Kamloops. Oh yeah, I'm also super stoked about the weather in Kamloops versus the weather we have here in Edmonton! "

She adds, "I am beyond thrilled to be living out my dream of playing university soccer with the WolfPack."

Other confirmed recruits thus far are: Chloe Nadeau (5'3" Center Midfield,  Big Fork, Montana-Flathead High School)  Raiya Rumo ( 5'6" Centre Back, Courtice, ON-Eastdale CVI/ Oshawa Kicks), Gurneet Dhaliwal (5'6" Wing/Attacking Midfield, Surrey, BC-Tamanawis Secondary/UFV (Canada West), Hawan Abdissa (5'6"  Wing/Midfield Calgary, AB-All Saints High School/Calgary Football Club), Maria Iannone (5'3" Striker/Mid/Wing, Penticton, BC-Penticton Secondary/Pinnacles FC ), Caylah Lemon (5'7" centerback, Surrey, BC-Burnsview Secondary Ecole/Coastal FC), and Tatiana Mueller (5'7", centre back, Kamloops, BC-South Kamloops Secondary/TOFC).