2023/24 European Season in Review
Once again our Canadian footballers abroad balled out in the 20234/24 season. We keep talking about this figure of over 160 Canadian women abroad. Let’s go through some standout campaigns by players whose seasons wrapped up this month. From Portugal to Saudi Arabia, they collected tons of trophies, goals, and award nominations.
Speaking of Portugal, let’s start there.
Portugal has become a great place for Canadians to develop over the past 2-3 years. They seem to love their Canadians too, players like Lacasse, Alidou, and Smith quickly becoming fan favourites. This year it’s hard to decide who thrived the most.
Two Canadians won the Portuguese quadruple (League, League Cup, Portuguese Cup, Super Cup) with Benfica this season
Marie-Yasmine Alidou
26G, 4A, 2862 min across comps, 5 UWCL goals
Mimi Alidou may not be a national team star (yet), but a lot of people talk about her constantly. She’s one of those players whose club form has been so strong for so long that fans simply can’t fathom why she’s continually omitted from CanWNT squads (other than being an injury replacement player). Bev may have her reasons (forward depth), but after the Olympics Mimi needs to get a fair shot to play her way into the squad. The midfielder turned forward this season thrived in areas such as successful take-ons, progressive carries, and progressive passes (based on UWCL stats). Not only can she break lines and create danger, but she also has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. She’s in the running for player of the season.
Chandra Davidson
18 GP, 1150min, 5G, 1A across comps in Portugal, 400min 2G in Eredevise
Davidson is a 5th year pro and those who’ve been following along will be familiar with her name. For those who are less familiar, Chandra, an Indiana grad, went pro in 2019 and has played in Liga BPI since 2020 with a short stint in the Netherlands last fall. She’s a natural goalscorer with 46 goals in just over 100 pro games. The Stoney Creek native was impactful for Benfica after her January transfer and scored a couple of massive goals in the Cup and league in the home stretch of the season.
Olivia Smith Awards (ROTY, POTY)
28GP, 1955 min, 16G, 10A
We spoke about her already but what Livy Smith accomplished in Portugal this season was absolutely unreal. Despite not coming away with any hardware, her individual accomplishments served as the platform to take her game to the next level and proved to be an extremely lucrative signing for Lisbon.
Megane Sauve
30GP, 2G, 1A, 2565 min across comps
The 26-yo Quebecoise born just outside of Montreal had a breakout first pro campaign. The former Carabins midfielder converted to left back this season. She played and started nearly every game and was among the top Canadian minute-earners in Europe. It’s great to see a decorated Usports alumni make her mark on the pro game. She’s a prime candidate to return to Montreal to play for her hometown club in the Northern Super League.
Melissa Dagenais 9GP, 840 min across comps
The 23-yo keeper from Saint-Hubert popped up on the NT scene late last year when she was called in during the November window. Shortly after, she declared for the NWSL draft but ultimately opted to go pro in Portugal instead. She kept one clean sheet in her debut season and conceded 12 goals in 9 games.
Caroline Kehrer 31GP, 13G, 4A
Caroline Kehrer is another Canadian goalscorer tearing it up in Liga BPI. The 27 yo from Winnipeg has been with SC Braga for two years and wore the captain’s armband on various occasions throughout the season. She’s up to 41 goals and 12 assists across competitions since joining the league in 2021.
Nat Cooke 9GP, 2G; Sophia Ferreira 11GP, 1G; Markela Bejleri 8GP, 2A
Struggling at the halfway mark of the season, Lank Vilaverdense decided to invest in a whole bunch of Canadian reinforcements. Midfielders Cooke and Bejleri helped the team reach the relegation playoff spot, while former UBC Thunderbird solidified things at the back, playing nearly every minute. Great to see these Canucks make an immediate impact and reward the investment. Dakota Chan also joined but seems to have struggled with an injury and therefore minutes.
Ashley & Keisha won the WSL in dramatic fashion
Ashley’s Lawrence: 1G, 2 A, 1917 min across comps (10 league starts)
Key stats: 81.8% pass completion, 91st% progressive passing, 87th successful take-ons
Despite not being an every-game starter, Ashley’s first season as a Blue was relatively successful. She stood out in the offensive parts of her game specifically breaking lines with passes and dribbling. She had a monster performance vs Barcelona in the away leg, stifling Graham Hansen’s attacks, something no one has been able to do for a few years now
Kadeisha Buchanan: 1G, 1594 min across comps (7 league starts),
Key stats: 89.1% pass completion, 91st% of aerial duels won, 95th% in tackles won
There were certainly parts of the season that were concerning from Kadeisha’s perspective. She was an unused sub in 13 games, likely related to her position. She played plenty of UWCL minutes, though, due to her experience and also benefited from Millie Bright’s injury. She scored her first WSL goal late in the season and overall she’ll be satisfied with her nearly 1600 minutes.
Jayde Riviere won the FA Cup
3A, 1636 min across comps
Key stats: 76.3% pass completion, 89th percentile tackles, 83rd% Blocks
Injuries: Feb 2 - March 3, March 23 - May 4
Jayde’s season was marred by a couple of long injuries, totaling over 10 weeks in the second half of the season. This stems from the frequency at which she is tackled based on her style of play. She also shone defensively with a high percentile of successful tackles and blocks. The season culminated in a much-anticipated comeback and was capped by the FA Cup win.
Cloe Lacasse and Sabrina D’Angelo are Conti Cup Winners
Cloe Lacasse: 5G, 2A across, 1273 min across comps
Key stats: 89th percentile progressive carries, 92nd shot-creating actions, 82nd non-PK goals
It was always going to be a tough task to transition from the Portuguese league where she was bagging goals for fun to one of the top clubs worldwide in Arsenal. She had more opportunities in the first half of the season when Miedema and Mead had not yet returned to the squad. The fans certainly took to her dangerous attacking style of play early on, serenading her with her own song “Twenty foooooouuuuuurrr, running down the wing…” and so forth. Overall, Cloe did quite well in her limited appearances. She was among the most dangerous players in the league in terms of dribbling, creating chances, and non-PK goals. There’s a lot to build on in 2024/25.
Sabs, ever the dutiful backup keeper, picked up 8 starts across competitions, keeping 3 clean sheets in the process. Despite solid performances in the league and cup, she was unable to win the starting spot from Zinsberger. Perhaps that’s why she’ll be leaving the club this summer and making her move to another (hopefully starting) opportunity.
Adriana Leon’s best club season in a while
23GP, 7G, 8A in 1570 min
Key stats: 78th percentile non-PK goals, 84th percentile goals/shot, 87th crosses into penalty area, 90th fouls drawn
Leon has been an interesting player to watch over the past 2-3 years. She’s been that dawg for Canada time and time again. At club level, she’s struggled for consistency since leaving West Ham. With a few stops in Manchester and Portland, she’s finally found a good home with Aston Villa. 15 G+A in 2023/24 were the most among Canadians playing in top 3 leagues. Her strengths continue to be her ability to agitate, draw fouls, and clinical finishing. It’s great to see Leon thrive at club level again, especially ahead of the Olympics this summer.
Shelina Zadorsky bounces back with West Ham
15GP, 1150 min
Shelina surprisingly fell out of favour under new Spurs coach Vilahamn this season. After captaining the side and playing nearly every minute she only had a few cup appearances to her name in the first half of 2023/24. A loan to West Ham fixed all that in January. She was immediately relied upon by the Irons and helped them avoid Relegation.
Deanne Rose stagnation?
3G, 1A, 800 min
Key stats: 98th percentile progressive carries, 88th successful take-ons, 98th touches in att pen, 99th crosses into penalty area
Injury: November 16 - January 13
We don’t really know what to make of D Rose as of late. The Achilles injury last season really threw a wrench into the mix. Wild to think that she’s a bubble player for the Olympic roster. Though her strength continues to be her speed which allows her to dribble the ball and break lines better than most, she seems to be a little off in terms of her decision making and/or execution. She struggled with injuries again this season and only managed 800 min across competitions.
Stratigakis relegated, Culver retires, Groves breaks into the Jamaican NT
Sarah Stratrigakis transferred from Sweden to Bristol this winter. Unfortunately her playing time was limited by injury and she did not renew her contract with the relegation side.
Canadian fans paid close attention to the London City of the Women’s Championship (recently purchased by woso mogul Michelle Kang) this season. Coached by former CanWNT coach Carolina Morace, the Lionesses were home to three Canadians this season. Paige Culver played nearly every until she suffered a season-ending injury and announced her retirement. Toronto-born midfielder Israela Groves played 16 games and impressed enough to earn several call-ups to the Jamaican national team.
Vanessa Gilles wins French League
League: 1260 min, 3G, 1A (league), 900 UWCL min, 3 goals
Key stats: 96th percentile aerials, scoring (vs CBs), 88.5% pass completion
The brick wall, as fans affectionately call her, keeps brick walling. She is an absolute monster in the tackle both in the air and on the ground. She also brings an ever-dangerous presence on set pieces, netting 6 goals for Lyon this season. Gilles has clearly benefited from her move to Lyon, steadily improving her on-ball decision-making and ability to build the play and break lines. Despite falling short in the UWCL final, OL and Gilles can be satisfied with the 23/24 campaign in which she won her second D1 title.
Lamontagne and Pierre-Louis help ASSE maintain 1st div, Khoury, Oduro, and Burns promoted to D2F, Levasseur a stalwart for Montpellier
Alex Lamontagne: 5G, 3A, 1727 min
Amandine Pierre-Louis: 3G, 2A, 1088 mi
Lamontagne and Pierre-Louis both played big roles for promotion side ASSE. They maintained their spot in the first division early on in the season, in large part thanks to big goals from the Canadian duo.
Marie Levassuer: 22GP, 1690 min, 1G, 1A
Levasseur is a dependable left-footed fullback and that makes her valuable to many teams. She was solid once again for Montpellier, starting the majority of their games in her first season with the club.
Pilar Khoury: 21GP, 4G
Emily Burns: 21/22 starts, 21 goals, 11 shutouts, GOTY
Christabel Oduro: 23GP, 4G
Pretty cool to see three Canadians earn promotion to the first division this year. Strasbourg won the championship. Khoury was a veteran player for them and scored four goals. Burns’ and Oduro’s team Nantes may have fallen short of first place, but they’ve still gained promotion. Burns was particularly influential, picking up goalie of the year honours.
Evelyne Viens win League + Coppa Italia + Golden Boot + Best Serie A Attacker
13G, 1673 min (league), 3 UWCL goals, 18G, 8A across comps
Key stats: 98th percentile SCA, Successful Take-ons, 83rd% goals/shot
Viens continues to demonstrate that she can adapt to every life and bang in goals no matter where she is. In her first season, she won the league, coppa italia, the golden boot and was named offensive player of the season. She showed impressive versatility, playing across the front line and remaining dangerous regardless of her position. Thanks to these impressive performances she’s more than likely on the plane to Paris, funny enough, the city where she once notched 11G+2A in 14 appearances.
Julia Grosso departs Juve, wins Supercoppa
2160 minutes, 6G, 1 A
Key stats: 95th percentile non-PK goals, 96th% shot-creating actions, 98th% progressive carries and 95th% progressive passes
Julia Grosso’s season went under the radar, as Juve’s did as a whole. They’ve now gone two seasons in a row without winning the league, only winning the Supercoppa this year. Grosso had a solid season again, to be fair, thriving in the offensive side of her game. Specifically, her ability to score goals from Midfield, create plays, and break lines on the dribble or by passing. It does feel as though she may have outgrown the Italian club, apparently setting her sights on the NWSL this summer.
Last, but certainly not least, let’s take a look at what happened in other leagues worldwide.
Tiffany Cameron (6G in 1400 min for 12th place Betis) played a big role for her team in Liga F. The veteran from Mississauga’s performances continue to be impressive enough to be called in to Jamaica’s NT.
Jess de Filippo was unfortunate to miss over 100 days of the season, limiting her to just under 1000 minutes, in which she scored one goal for the relegation side. Hopefully, she stays healthy in 2024/25.
Former U20 player Maya Ladhani won another trophy in her second season in Hungary, taking home the massive Hungarian Cup trophy.
Nicole Kozlova won the Ukrainian Cup with FC Vorskla who fell just short in the league. She also competed in UWCL qualification. She played over 1900 min, scoring 26 goals in the process, including 3 in the UWCL.
The 34-yo Canadian keeper Chandra Bednar has traveled the world in pursuit of her profession. Her most recent stop? The newly launched Saudi Women’s Premier League. She was voted GK of the season and was crowned League Champion with her club Al Ula.