(Halifax, N.S.) – Dalhousie women’s soccer head coach Cindy Tye is pleased to announce the commitment of Riley Donovan and Julie Cormier to the 2017-18 lineup.

Riley Donovan has played the last three seasons in the very competitive Ontario Youth Soccer League (OYSL). The Erin Mills Eagles top scorer in the 2015-16 season, the 5’4 striker played the previous year for the Mooredale Lightning before joining the North Toronto Nitros for the 2016-17 season.

A well-rounded athlete, Donovan was selected as Etobicoke Collegiate Institute’s top junior athlete in 2014 and 2015 and was an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) finalist in golf (2016) and track and field (2015). A native of Toronto, O.N., she is also an accomplished downhill skier, qualifying for national and international races throughout her career.

“Getting the opportunity to play for Coach Tye and Dalhousie is a dream come true” says Donovan. “I am excited to play with a great group of athletes and I have no doubt we will make Dalhousie proud.”

An honour roll student since grade nine, Donovan has been accepted to Dalhousie’s Arts and Social Sciences program.

“Riley is a multi-sport athlete who comes to us with an understanding of the commitment it takes to compete at a high level,” says Tye. “She has the tactical awareness and technical ability to help us combine in the attacking third. A proven goal scorer, we are excited to add her to our roster.”

A 5’3 midfielder, Cormier comes to the Tigers with five years of provincial and club team experience. She’s trained with New Brunswick’s High Performance Soccer Academy the last four years and helped lead team New Brunswick to silver (2015) and bronze (2012, 2013 and 2014) medal performances at the Atlantic championships.

She helped lead the Codiac AAA soccer team to second place at the New Brunswick provincial championships in both the 2014 and 2016 seasons. In 2015, she led the Club de Soccer Dieppe to a third-place finish at the provincial championships.

“Playing university-level soccer has always been a goal of mine,” says Cormier. “Dalhousie has always intrigued me academically. I’m glad that my hard work and dedication has allowed me to achieve my goal and I’m very excited to begin this new journey.”

A native of Dieppe, N.B., Cormier will begin a degree in Medical Sciences this September.

“Julie has been exposed to great programming and competition as a product of the high-performance program in New Brunswick,” says Tye. “She is a technically-solid midfielder who will help us keep possession and build the attack.”

The Tigers finished the 2016-17 season in sixth, earning a spot at the AUS championship. They lost 2-1 in OT in their quarter-final match-up with Acadia.