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Michele Houchen

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Michele Houchen
Personal information
Full name Michele Houchen
Date of birth (1965-09-23) September 23, 1965 (age 59)[1]
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker[2]
Youth career
Oakville SC
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987 Canada 5 (2)

Michele Houchen (born September 23, 1965) is a Canadian retired soccer player who played as a striker.[2] She made five appearances and scored two goals for the Canada national team.[1] She currently serves as the Girls Junior Academy head coach for Blue Devils FC.[3]

Early life and career

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Houchen was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1965,[1] and raised in Scarborough.[4][2] She began playing soccer at the age of 15.[2] In 1985, she moved with her family to Oakville, Ontario, where she joined the Oakville Soccer Club.[4] In 1986, she won the Canada Soccer Women's All-Star Championship.[1]

International career

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In July 1986, Houchen was one of the 23 players selected to participate in the first-ever Canada national team camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1] On July 15, 1987, at the age of 21, she made her debut for the national team in a 2–0 friendly loss to Sweden at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota.[1][5] Later that year, she made the roster for the 1987 Women's World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan.[1] On December 11, she scored twice in a 2–0 win over Hong Kong in Kaohsiung City.[6][7] On December 19, she made her 5th and final national team appearance, in a 4–0 loss to the United States in Taipei.[8] Houchen was part of the national team player pool for a total of five years, from 1986 to 1991.[3]

Later life and coaching career

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In 2002, Houchen was player-coach for the Oakville Storm, a team part of the Oakville Soccer Club,[9] and helped them win both the Ontario Women's Cup and the Jubilee Trophy.[4][10][1] In 2004, she was named as an assistant coach for the Ontario provincial team, and the team went on to win gold at the National All-Star Championship.[11] In 2005, she was player-coach for the Oakville Panthers as they won gold at the World Masters Games, in the age 38–44 category.[12][11]

In 2015, Houchen founded Future Girls Soccer, an all-girls soccer academy based in Oakville.[13] As of 2022, she serves as the Girls Junior Academy head coach for Blue Devils FC.[3] Before joining the Blue Devils, she was a development director with Oakville SC.[14][11][15]

Personal life

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Houchen attended Sheridan College.[1] She is an insurance broker.[2] In 2007, she was inducted into the Oakville Sports Hall of Fame.[2]

Career statistics

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International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Canada[1]
1987 5 2
Total 5 2
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Houchen goal.[1]
List of international goals scored by Michele Houchen
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 December 11, 1987 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan  Hong Kong 1–0 2–0 1987 Women's World Invitational Tournament
2 2–0

Honours

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Club

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Oakville SC

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Michele Houchen player profile". Canada Soccer Association. January 28, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Agro, Carly (June 16, 2009). "Competitive fires still burn for Ont. soccer coach Michele Houchen". CBC Sports. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "TECHNICAL TEAM". Blue Devils FC. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Michele Houchen - Oakville Sports Hall of Fame (Video). Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ^ "Canada 0 - 2 Sweden". Canada Soccer Association. January 20, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "This Day in Football from 10-16 December". Canada Soccer Association. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Canada 2 - 0 Hong Kong". Canada Soccer Association. January 20, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Canada 0 - 4 USA". Canada Soccer Association. January 20, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Canada Soccer 2022 Yearbook of Champions, Records & Results". Canada Soccer Association. May 17, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Canada - List of Ontario Cup Winners (Canadian Amateur Club Cup)". RSSSF. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d "Each one has earned their place in history". Burlington Post. February 24, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "World Masters Games Soccer" (PDF). World Masters Games. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Kuiperij, Jon (November 10, 2015). "New soccer academy in Halton designed to provide female players with female coaching". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "OSC Celebrity Game". Oakville Beaver. July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "All-Oakville final in Barrie". Burlington Post. June 17, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2022.