St. Albert Impact
 | |
| Full name | St. Albert Soccer Association Impact Football Club |
|---|---|
| Stadium | Riel Recreation Park |
| Women's Head Coach | Dean Cordeiro |
| League | League1 Alberta |
| 2024 | L1AB, 4th(men) L1AB, 6th (women) |
| Website | https://www.stalbertsoccer.com/ |
St. Albert Soccer Association Impact FC, commonly known as St. Albert Impact FC or SASA Impact FC is a Canadian soccer team based in St. Albert, Alberta that plays in the men's and women's division of League1 Alberta.
History
[edit]
The St. Albert Soccer Association was founded in 1999 as a youth soccer club.[1] The club is one of seven Alberta clubs to be a Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) National Youth License Member.[2]
In 2021, the club joined the US-based pro-am United Women's Soccer as an expansion franchise,[3][4] becoming the league's second Canadian club after Calgary Foothills WFC.[5] The team's budget is $100,000-$150,000 depending on travel.[6] Their initial season was in jeopardy, after missing the deadline to be approved by the Canadian Soccer Association to apply for cross-border play, but after being given a 24 hour extension, they were able to complete their registration.[7] For their initial season, they were to play a shortened six-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] In their debut match, on July 2, they defeated Calgary Foothills 1–0.[9] The match was the first all-Canadian UWS match.[10] Ultimately they were only able to play four of the six matches for the season.[11]
In 2023, they joined the newly founded League1 Alberta, with teams in both the men's and women's division and would participate in the 2023 League1 Alberta Exhibition Series, ahead of the league's anticipated formal launch in 2024.[12] During the exhibition series, the men finished second in the regular season stage, before being defeated in the championship final by the Calgary Foothills, while the women's team finished first in the regular season stage, before being defeated by the Calgary Blizzard on penalty kicks in the championship final.[13]
Seasons
[edit]Men
| Season | League | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | League1 Alberta Exhibition Series | 5 | 3–2–3 | 2nd | Finalists | |
| 2024 | League1 Alberta | 7 | 6–3–3 | 4th | did not qualify |
Women
| Season | League | Division | Teams | Record | Rank | Playoffs | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | United Women's Soccer | West Conference | 5 | 2–0–2 | 3rd | did not qualify | [11] |
| 2022 | 6 | 4–1–5 | 3rd | did not qualify | [14] | ||
| 2023 | League1 Alberta Exhibition Series | 5 | 7–0–1 | 1st | Finalists | ||
| 2024 | League1 Alberta | 7 | 4–2–6[a] | 7th | not held | ||
- ^ St. Albert Impact's first six games were later forfeited due to a violation of affiliate player rules. They had a record of 5-0-1 and were in first place at the time. Their overall record would have been 10–2–0
Notable former players
[edit]The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Alberta team:
References
[edit]- ^ "Club Profile – St. Albert Impact Football Club". Alberta Youth Soccer League.
- ^ Grainey, Tim (January 2021). "The Week in Women's Football: Riise takes over England; UWS adds teams for 2021; Ludlow leaves Wales". Tribal Football.
- ^ "Oh Canada! West Welcomes SASA Impact FC". United Women's Soccer. January 6, 2021.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (January 9, 2021). "St. Albert to host Canada's second women's pro-am soccer team". St. Albert Today.
- ^ Cook, Adam (January 29, 2021). "New pro-am soccer team coming to St. Albert". CTV News.
- ^ Van Diest, Derek (January 7, 2021). "Women's international pro-am soccer coming to St. Albert". Edmonton Sun.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Preston (July 2, 2021). "St. Albert Impact prepare to make their mark on the United Women's Soccer league". St. Albert Today.
- ^ Kornik, Slav (June 13, 2021). "St. Albert women's soccer team looking to make major impact in inaugural pro-am season". Global News.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Preston (July 8, 2021). "Impact victorious over Foothills FC in United Women's Soccer opener". St. Albert Today.
- ^ Prusina, Sandra (July 2, 2021). "Calgary's Foothills WFC back in action for first time since 2019". CityNews.
- ^ a b "2021 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "League1 Alberta Exhibition Series confirms participating clubs for 2023". OneSoccer. March 10, 2023.
- ^ Mahmoudi, Nelson (July 30, 2023). "Inaugural League1 Alberta Champions Crowned In Weekend Showdown". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "2022 UWS Standings". United Women's Soccer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)