Canadian defender Shannon Woeller first player to sign with Vancouver Rise

VANCOUVER — Shannon Woeller grew up sitting in the stands at Swangard Stadium, cheering on her hometown Vancouver Whitecaps. 

In a few short months, the Canadian defender will be the one playing on a local field, inspiring the next generation of soccer stars. 

The Vancouver Rise announced Woeller as their first player signing in club history Monday. 

Returning to Vancouver and playing in the newly created Northern Super League "means everything" to the 34-year-old athlete. 

“It's so special. This is so special for me to come home, be with my friends and my family, and also have the opportunity to help grow Canadian women's football," she said. 

"Woeller is an intelligent, proven leader who'll set the tone for the squad," said Sinead King, Rise's president. "It's her professionalism, her leadership, her athleticism, but also her homegrown talent."

The Rise announced last month that Anja Heiner-Moller will be the team's head coach. Currently coach of Denmark's U-19 women's team, Heiner-Moller previously worked in Vancouver as an academy coach with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and North Shore Girls Soccer Club between 2018 to 2020 when her husband Kenneth Heiner-Moller was head coach of the Canadian women's team.

Woeller played for Kenneth Heiner-Moller during her time on the national squad. She made 21 appearances for Canada's women's national team, including at the 2019 Women's World Cup in France where the country was ousted by Sweden in the round of 16.

She also played with Stephanie Labbe, a former Canadian goalkeeper who's now Rise's sporting director. 

The duo started talking about the new club and Woeller was eager to jump at the chance. 

“I couldn't get the idea out of my head once I thought that this was an opportunity," she said. "Obviously, there's a big history of football in Vancouver, and the way the organization is being built, everyone's really impressed me. So it was a pretty easy decision for me.”

Woeller began her professional career in 2008, playing for the semi-pro Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL W-League, then went on to play for the Seattle Sounders in the same league. When the league folded in 2012, Woeller took her talents overseas, suiting up for clubs in Norway, Iceland, Germany, Spain and Sweden. 

Each stop provided another set of lessons.

“I think what's really cool about having all those different opportunities is every league you go to, you can learn something different from. So I think that's been really helpful for me," Woeller said. 

"When I was in Germany, they were just really good tactically. In Spain, technically, obviously, they could play out of, like, a two inch square. And then Sweden's pretty physical, but also a good combination of tactical as well. So I think just sort of putting all those experiences together is good, because you can help people in different ways.”

Pursuing a soccer career abroad can be difficult, though. Players miss their families and can have trouble adapting to a whole new language and culture. 

“Playing overseas is an incredible opportunity, but it's also not easy," Woeller said. "It's hard to be so far from home for so long. And I think when you're over there too, you see girls, they've got families, they've got lives, and it's hard not to be a little bit jealous of that."

The newly created Northern Super League — set to kickoff its inaugural season in April — "gives Canadian players choices," she added. 

“It's been a really long time coming. And I think there was a lot of years where I didn't think that this was ever going to happen."

Now the veteran defender is looking forward to providing girls an opportunity she didn't have growing up — a chance to watch professional women's soccer in Vancouver on a regular basis. 

“I would have absolutely loved it. I would have begged my parents to go every day," she said. "I mean, I grew up going to the Whitecaps games at Swangard at the time when I was a kid, I loved that. And so now that girls can go see female games all the time, I think it's going to be huge.”