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Renegades going in right direction

Red Deer Renegades captain Hayley Carlson is well aware what it is like to be a complete underdog.She went from playing on a perennial powerhouse in the Pacific Western Athletic Association to playing on a team that was just trying to survive in its first year in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s Canada West Conference.
B3-Renegades
Photo by JOSH ALDRICH/Advocate staff -- for Josh's story -- Red Deer Renedades defender Kelsie Caine

Red Deer Renegades captain Hayley Carlson is well aware what it is like to be a complete underdog.

She went from playing on a perennial powerhouse in the Pacific Western Athletic Association to playing on a team that was just trying to survive in its first year in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s Canada West Conference.

This was the challenge for her University of British Columbia — Okanagan Heat, and they managed to finish fifth out of seven teams in the Pacific Division, including earning a 1-1 tie with the UBC Thunderbirds.

The situation is not completely different this summer with the Renegades (0-2-1) in the Alberta Women’s Major Soccer League. They may not be new to the league, but they are decided underdogs with a young roster trying to make in roads.

On Sunday, they dropped their home opener 4-0 to the Calgary Callies (3-1-1) at Edgar Athletic Park.

“(Jumping to CIS) it was so much faster, so much stronger, everyone was technically sound and it was a big shock, but I think it made me a stronger player than I’ve ever been,” said Carlson, 21, who spent four years in Kelowna with the Heat and hasn’t played in Red Deer since she was 15.

“I gained tons of experience. You know you’re not going to win every game — we might lose every game, I don’t care —as long as everyone improves and we work together and get stronger as a team, that’s all I care about.”

The Callies controlled play for the first half, allowing only one scoring chance against, though they led just 1-0 on a goal by Lauren Vernon at the 30-minute mark. The Renegades came out a lot stronger in the second half, until a defensive break down at the 55-minute mark crushed them, as Jordan Smith scored her first of the game. Ranee Prenji made it 3-0 at the 66-minute mark as the collapse continued and Smith iced it with her second at 88 minutes.

“We have a hard time practicing together so it’s really hard when we come together as a team to click right away, it kind of takes half an hour, 40 minutes sometimes to settle in and get to know where everyone is,” said Carlson, who is graduating with a nursing degree from UBC-O.

The bright side is they were coming off a 1-1 tie on Saturday in Calgary against the Cougars FC, with Paula Dadensky scoring the lone goal for Red Deer.

It may not sound like much, but the fact they already have scored a goal is a big deal considering it took half the season last year for the Renegades to get on the board. They were actually leading the game late until Calgary tied it up.

It’s a big step in the right direction for the club.

“We actually deserved to win that game ... it shows what it could be. It’s nice to tie and be disappointed,” said Renegades head coach Paul Morigeau, noting they were short three of their top players on Sunday with Bianca Ribi at still at Dartmouth University and Robyn MacDonald and Caillin Testroete out for health reasons.

After last year’s debacle, the Red Deer City Soccer Association entered a women’s team in the Calgary indoor league. The goal was to get a group of girls playing together year-round, like the big city teams, as opposed to just coming together a few weeks before the start of the season and hoping there are enough pieces there to have a fighting chance.

They are starting to see the positive affects of that program with five players making the jump from indoor to the AWMSL team.

“Without (those players) we would not be here today,” said Morigeau, noting those five also recruited a couple of their friends to join the club as well.

Scoring is still going to be a struggle for the Renegades, as it always has, though there is some skill up from in the likes of Dadensky, Cassie Bratton and Lauren Walker. Ribi will help bolster that unit when she returns.

The strength of the team, however, should be their backfield. They are stout defensively, led by Carlson and Edmonton goalie Annie Ulliac, who has a scholarship with Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.

“She drives all the way from North Edmonton to come train with us and she hasn’t missed anything, we’re very happy to have her,” said Morigeau.

The most important part is the potential that exists on the roster. They may not be world beaters just yet, but Morigeau believes they should be stepping out of the basement this year.

“There’s a hierarchy in our league, there’s three or four teams that are just lights out, you go through their rosters and they’re stocked with NCAA players,” said Morigeau. “Then there’s five or six of the rest of us. I’d like to be fifth out of eight teams, and I think we can do that.”

The task does not get much easier for the Renegades on Sunday when they host Edmonton Victoria (2-1-0) at 2 p.m. at Edgar Athletic Park.