“I was absolutely awestruck,” said Rachel Bedek, when describing the first time she stepped out onto the soccer pitch at the 2011 Universiade Games in Shenzhen, China. “Putting a Team Canada jersey on is everything I’ve ever dreamed of.”
The Carleton Ravens women’s soccer goaltender spent her final month of summer over 12,000 kilometres away representing Canada in the world university games, in which Canada placed fifth.
“I’m so happy I made this team. The style of play and competitiveness took me to a whole new level,” she said.
Bedek was part of a strong group of university and college women who were chosen back in April. They found themselves alongside China, Great Britain, and Taiwan in pool play. Their first game of the tournament was Aug. 11 against Great Britain.
“The atmosphere in the team room was amazing. We were hungry for a win,” Bedek said. She continued to say she was very happy to see how quickly the team gelled together and how supportive they all were of each other. They won the game 2-0.
Next on the pitch was China, who Canada played in front of 40,000 spectators.
“I couldn’t even hear myself yelling [at the other players] on the field,” Bedek recalled. Unfortunately for the Canadians, the home team rode the enthusiasm of the audience and attack after attack led them to a successful 1-0 victory.
The Canadians then needed a win against Taiwan in order to keep their medal hopes alive. Bedek continued to play strong and in the end, they downed Taiwan 3-0, as Bedek recorded another clean sheet.
“[Bedek] was superb,” Team Canada head coach Graham Roxburgh said. “When we needed a save she came up big.”
At that point, Canada was off to the quarterfinals against Japan.
“The Japanese were amazing,” said Bedek’s teammate Alyssa Lagonia, who plays for Wilfrid Laurier University and scored one goal in the tournament. “They had some free kicks that we just had no chance of stopping.”
The Japanese moved on with a convincing 6-0 victory, before eventually losing 2-1 in the gold medal game to China.
Canada defeated South Korea 3-2 and Russia 1-0 on their way to a fifth-place finish, matching the team’s best Universiade finish in history. They finished fifth in 2005 in Izmir, Turkey.
Bedek finished the tournament with three shutouts and nine goals against in six games.
“[Bedek] made some huge stops that gave us the momentum as a team to score goals,” Lagonia said. “She was just so big in so many of the games.”
Looking back, Bedek said she’s proud of the way she played, but it’s the unbelievably big smile on her face that shows the games mean more than just a good result.
“It’s one of those things that you can’t actually believe you’ve gotten to go to,” Bedek said. “The opening ceremonies were amazing, especially walking around the arena with all the other athletes.”
Bedek, Roxburgh, and Lagonia all said China went above and beyond their expectations, providing beautiful venues, unbelievable ceremonies, and a two-to-one ratio of volunteers to athletes.
Now, back with the Ravens in Ottawa, Bedek said she’s ready to stand between the posts for Carleton.
“I think because of this I have a lot to offer and I can’t wait for the season to start,” she said.
Bedek and the Ravens will kick off their season against Ryerson University Sept. 3 in Toronto.
