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Yukon natives Malorie Hanson and Sammy Demchuk won bronze with the Lethbridge College Kodiaks at the recent ACAC Women鈥檚 Soccer Championships.

Kodiaks head coach Sean Carey said the season also went well for the young Yukoners.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e an absolute delight to have around 鈥� their personalities and their temperament, their attitudes, it just never wavers. Sammy doesn鈥檛 see a lot of the field in outdoor and she鈥檚 always the one that comes and she鈥檚 always laughing and joking and dancing and she鈥檚 just a great spirit to have around 鈥� she just keeps everything positive and then Mal鈥檚 very similar. Mal鈥檚 just very smiley all the time 鈥� both of them I think would say to you they鈥檝e really enjoyed the season and 鈥� for Mal to be back playing again after the injury last year, she was thrilled. She just said

鈥榊ou know, I take it as a positive. This time last year, I couldn鈥檛 walk.鈥�

Hanson is coming off of surgery for a serious knee injury and only started playing again in October.

Carey said each of the Yukon footballers bring different skills to the pitch.

鈥淔or Malorie, it鈥檚 her footwork. Her close ball control is just something. She鈥檚 at another level, she really is. She sees plays that a lot of players don鈥檛 see and she鈥檚 just so good at keeping the ball close to her when she鈥檚 making turns and moves and she can beat a player with one little shimmy and so her one-on-one strengths are huge.

鈥淪ammy鈥檚 very creative when she gets the ball. She kind of sees plays happening before they happen and when she plays in the middle at midfield you kind of need that.

鈥淎nd when we get to futsal, Sammy鈥檚 big strength is her shot. She鈥檚 got an absolute cannon on her. So that鈥檚 why she鈥檚 going to be really effective for us in futsal. She鈥檚 going to be playing quite a bit and she鈥檒l be one of our important players for finding the back of the net.鈥�

For young players like Demchuk, 19, and Hanson, 22, there鈥檚 always room for improvement.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always stuff to work on, right? You could say for Sammy, just again, consistency and 鈥� she just does everything that鈥檚 asked of her all the time.

鈥淔or Malorie, I think she鈥檇 just say maybe her shot. Maybe getting a few more goals would be something that I think she would want to see improve on her stat line but she just creates so much for everybody else and she draws players in, which makes her teammates 鈥� gives them lots of space on the field because the other team 鈥� (she鈥檚) so good with the ball at her feet that they put two or three girls on her to try to get the ball and she lays it off, so that person鈥檚 open in space. So I think that Mal creates more and doesn鈥檛 get the kind of recognition that 鈥� the more she gets settled in again, playing, the goals and the assists will come. You鈥檒l see her a lot more on the stat line.鈥�

The future looks bright for both girls.

鈥淚 think Malorie can play U (University)-Sports for sure,鈥� said Carey.

鈥淪he鈥檚 good enough skill-wise for that and I know it鈥檚 something with her schooling that might happen here in the future. I鈥檇 hate to lose her from Lethbridge College but I think at the end of the day, it鈥檚 all about the athlete and making sure they get the education that they want.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to lose her, if we can but I care and if she has to go somewhere else, then I would 100 per cent help her 鈥� talk to the other coaches and make sure they鈥檙e aware of what she鈥檚 about.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 not exactly sure what I鈥檒l be doing next year, said Hanson. 鈥淚 think I鈥檓 going to apply to athletic therapy probably in Victoria as well as at MRU (Mount Royal University) in Calgary.

鈥淚鈥檓 not 100 per cent sure where I鈥檒l be or what I鈥檒l be doing but I鈥檇 like to continue with my post-secondary education as well as hopefully playing soccer as I progress with my rehab and stuff with my knee.鈥�

As for Demchuk, Carey will be happy to see her stick around.

鈥淔or Sammy, she needs to keep working on her game and she鈥檚 at the college for another four years cause she鈥檚 doing the nursing program, so we have her there for quite a while and it鈥檚 just going to be exciting. Hopefully here in the next year she can really be pushing for a starting spot and be an impact player for us.鈥�

Demchuk added 鈥淚鈥檓 in my first year bachelor of nursing program and it鈥檚 a four-year program. So I鈥檓 hoping to just stay here all four years and keep playing all four years. Play out all my eligibility.鈥�

Carey added 鈥淭hey are wonderful people and we鈥檙e very very fortunate and lucky to have Malorie and Sammy in Lethbridge and hopefully we get a few more girls coming down from the Yukon and joining our programs.鈥�