Sandman Player of the Month: Mwasalla led Griffins to historic U SPORTS championship
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Women's soccer forward Grace Mwasalla has been named the Sandman Signature Player of the Month for the month of November.
Mwasalla wins a free night's stay at the Sandman Signature Hotel downtown.
As the Griffins celebrated an historic U SPORTS national championship on Nov. 21 – the first in MacEwan's history – Mwasalla was front and centre in the efforts.
The rookie forward never came off the field during the tournament, finishing it off with the winning goal in the championship game penalty kicks shootout that delivered a 3-2 victory for the Griffins over the Trinity Western Spartans.
"In the national final, she set up Salma (Kamel) on another goal and she was a dominant and an unstoppable force on the pitch," said head coach Dean Cordeiro of Mwasalla, who also led the Griffins with five shots (two on target) in the contest.
"What a season, what a player and what a performance down the stretch. Her poise as a rookie was remarkable to watch."
Mwasalla, who finished with two assists, the PK goal and seven shots in three national championship games, was one of five Griffins players named to the tournament all-star team, joining tourney MVP Samantha Gouveia, Meagan Lemoine, Kaylin Hermanutz and Breanna Truscott.
Grace Mwasalla celebrates on the field at Cape Breton University with Salma Kamel and other teammates after the Griffins captured the U SPORTS women's soccer championship on Nov. 21 (Jefferson Hagen photo).
That was just the capper on a terrific month of November for the rookie, though, as Mwasalla was the catalyst that punched MacEwan's ticket to the national championship.
In the Canada West bronze medal game against Saskatchewan, back on Nov. 6, the Griffins were mired in a scoreless draw early in the second half when she set up Nikki Brodeur for the game winner in the 58th minute, before netting an insurance marker in the 61st to seal a 2-0 win.
"Her performance in the Canada West bronze medal game to punch our ticket to nationals was one we won't soon forget," said Cordeiro. "We needed someone to step up and she did just that."
The performance came not long after Mwasalla was named to the Canada West All-Rookie team and finished the regular season with the winning goal in MacEwan's 3-0 victory over Calgary that secured first place in the Central Division.
"Grace was truly remarkable," said Cordeiro. "She got stronger every game we played. Her impact on this team was second to none."
