After a remarkable soccer career with the Bisons, Desiree Scott looks back on her last five years on the team with satisfaction and contemplates the future and her love for the game.

Understandably unwilling to pick one singular defining moment as the highlight of her Bison soccer career, Scott has many memorable moments and achievements. In her first year with the team (2005) she was named the CanWest Rookie of the year, she was selected twice for the World University Games (2007, 2009) and she was recently chosen as a first team CIS All-Canadian. Especially proud of this last accomplishment, Scott said, “Being the first [Bison] women’s soccer player to get that honour is just such an amazing feeling.”

Scott just returned from Florida where she and teammate Caley Miskimmin were invited to attend the Canadian National Senior Women’s Soccer Camp. Scott admits to feeling mixed emotions prior to going to the camp. “I was nervous, I didn’t know what to expect all at the same time being excited to be given this opportunity.” Despite not knowing what to anticipate, Scott said the camp was a thrilling learning experience as well as a lot of hard work. She said it was a good opportunity to see where she measured up compared to other top players in the league.

Awards and national recognition aside, experiencing and contributing to the growth of the team over the past five years has been particularly rewarding, according to Scott. She values having been able to experience the team’s growth and improvement over the years as the team “continued to get better and come closer and closer to our goals of becoming champions and contending with some of the top teams in the league.”

Graduating with an arts degree in psychology, Scott is looking at applying to the faculty of education with the aspiration of becoming a music teacher. Although her time as a Bison soccer player has come to an end, Scott is not finished with Bison soccer. She also plans on getting more coaching certifications and would like to take on a coaching role in the future. On the field, she is focusing on becoming a member of the Canadian Senior National Team, playing in the World Cup and at the 2012 Olympics.

It is apparent that soccer is a large part of Scott’s life, and she is not about to leave it behind. “I love soccer because it is all I know. It has always been my primary sport since I began being involved with sports at all. I love it because it is a way to connect with the world, being one of the most popular sports. I love the fact that it brings people together and it’s a team sport where you grow and make friends,” affirms Scott. Some of her closest friends are people she met on the soccer field.

The other big draw to soccer for Scott is the competitiveness of it. “One huge thing I love about soccer is when you can make a move on a girl, fake left, go right [ . . . ] and just school her [laughs]. As bad as that sounds, it’s part of the game — the ability to make other players look bad and you good.”

Scott’s demonstrated ability combined with her love for the game make for a promising future as she says farewell to the Bisons . . . for now.