TORONTO – Greg Marshall and Will Finch have been dominating CIS headlines of late, and rightfully so. The Western Mustangs football coach and quarterback won the school’s fourth OUA title in the last seven years on Sunday.
But this past weekend at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Centre, it was a different sport, and a different pair of Mustangs, turning some heads.
Martin Painter and Jenna White are the two key cogs in Western’s emerging women’s soccer program, a program that in two years, has gone from a three-win season, to a first-place finish in the OUA’s West division with an 11-0-5 record.
Painter, the team’s head coach, and White, the team’s star defenceman, took home two pieces of hardware on the eve of the tournament, with Painter claiming CIS coach of the year honours, while White took home rookie of the year, a rare feat for a defenceman, as the award has traditionally gone to the country’s top striker.
A year ago, Painter was chatting with Eduardo Badescu, who coaches WSA Winnipeg of the United Soccer Leagues when Badescu mentioned a young player named Jenna White from Winnipeg’s Glenlawn Collegiate. Badescu is a part of the Manitoba Soccer Association, a program linked to White.
“I probably had about an hour-long conversation with him (about Jenna),” Painter recalled outside Western’s locker room at the Varsity Centre last Friday.
As for White, a year ago she was looking for opportunities to play south of the border, but then she heard about Painter.
She was impressed with the former Mustang’s track record as the head coach at Fanshawe (where he won an OCAA title) and as FC London’s bench boss, where he was nominated for the Premier Development League’s coach of the year in 2010.
“Western really caught my eye with the coaching staff,” said White. “Marty made huge progress in his first year with (the Mustangs), so I came to a training camp in February and met all the girls.”
White was particularly enamoured with Western’s young core. With 14 of the roster’s 18 players in either their first or second year, White looked forward to growing with a young group.
“I knew we would have a great team with all the first-years coming in,” she said.
In her first year with the Mustangs, White led a stalwart defence that allowed only eight goals in 16 regular season matches.
“We knew (Jenna) was going to be good, the question was just how good,” said Painter. “With her performances in training camp, and with her attitude, she exceeded expectations.
“She’s a very intelligent player and she analyzes things, and if there are things she doesn’t understand, we make sure she gets it. She has that analytical ability.”
In Western’s 2-0 consolation loss to Laval on Nov. 8, White’s quick decision-making was on full display.
Manning the right side, which matched her up against Laval’s top striker, White repeatedly settled the ball with ease, and found the safe avenue, whether it be a pass back to the goalkeeper, drilling it up the right wing, or finding Jaynie Vandewalle, Western’s striker and one of only two graduating players this year.
“She’s a great powerhouse back there,” said Vandewalle. “She talks (on the field) all the time.”
Having led one of the youngest teams at the tournament, Painter said he hopes his group will only learn from their finish this year.
“There are some fantastic teams and players, and the opportunity to watch the way they carry themselves and their demeanor onto the field is a great learning experience for our players,” he explained.
The Mustangs now pay attention to the country’s best when Trinity Western plays Montreal in the finals, so next year, his returning Mustangs can have the country’s best pay attention to them.