Former UB women’s soccer player Sophie Therien has been named to Canada’s inaugural Women’s National Futsal Team, UB athletics announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday. The call-up comes after a decade since her graduation in 2014.
The midfielder from Quebec logged a total of 6705 minutes as a Bull and was a regular starter, earning 67 starts in 78 total appearances. In her senior year, she assisted the winning goal in the 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament finals, was named UB’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player and earned Second Team All-MAC honors.
Therien’s selection comes ahead of the first edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Futsal Championship. The tournament will take place in Guatemala starting April 19 and ending on May 4. It will also serve as qualifiers for the inaugural FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup, scheduled to be held later this year in the Philippines.
This will not be Therien’s first time playing at an international level. She was part of Canada’s under-17 national team that won the CONCACAF under-17 championships, where she played the full 90 minutes in the finals. She also participated in the Canadian national team program during her high school career.
Therien’s recruit marks the first time a UB women’s soccer alum received a call-up to play national futsal, marking a historic achievement for the program.
Rodrigo Feijiao is the senior sports editor and can be reached at rodrigo.feijiao@ubspectrum.com
