For the majority of students, university is a place to learn, meet new people and make memories for the four years that are required for most degrees.
But those four years seem to not be enough for the Ravens women’s soccer team, as of the nine Ravens women’s soccer players currently in their fourth or fifth year of study, seven will be returning for the 2015 season.
Ravens striker and leading scorer during the 2014 campaign Sarah Royer is one of those people who said she feels the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) regulation allowing for a fifth year of athletic eligibility is a good thing.
“One of the best things about going to school in Canada is that we have the option to stay for four years and play sports . . . so why rush it when you can take that extra year and get focused on your grades and school at the same time?”
Ravens co-captain and fourth-year midfielder Veronica Mazzella echoed Royer’s feelings.
“You have a group of 20 people that are your family. . . why shorten our time with the family we have created, not just for the three months of the [season], but for our entire time here?”
Of the fourth-years returning for their final year of eligibility, three have been recruited to the program from outside of Ontario.
Royer who hails from Lethbridge, Alta. said she believes this family she found at Carleton has provided her with enough reasons to stay in the nation’s capital for another year.
“It reflects on the environment that Carleton gives to its university athletes and just students in general. It’s like a home now,” she said.
The return of upper years to complete their eligibility is not new to Carleton this year, as within the the last three years six players have returned to the program in order to finish their time in the CIS.
Alex MacIntyre, the lone fifth-year player who has no choice but to move on from her time at Carleton said if she had the chance to play another year she would.
“I really wanted to come back. I had a great season last season. I loved it and I continued to love it this year, even if we didn’t have as good of a season,” she said.
The Ravens were eliminated this season in the first round of playoffs in 2014 after reaching a program-best result of reaching the Ontario University Athletics Final Four in 2013.
Mazzella said the poor result may have left the potential graduates with extra incentive to stay.
“We have something to prove. We’re better then the outcome this season, that’s why six of us are coming back,” she said.
