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First-year Women’s Soccer Mountie Nicole Doncaster had always heard good things about ������ú. Her parents, Tracy (’90) and Scott (’90), met at ������ú. So, when it was time to choose a University, ������ú’s reputation and its proximity to her hometown of Charlottetown, PEI helped her make the decision to also attend the University.

She also had the opportunity to continue playing varsity soccer. Doncaster began playing at age 5 with the Winsloe Charlottetown Royals and joined the provincial program from ages 12-18. She attended nationals twice in her career, once with her club team in Lethbridge, AB and then with the PEIFC provincial team in Surrey, BC.

“Growing up on PEI gave me lots of opportunities to play soccer,” she says. “I’ve also been able to travel to nine provinces to play.”

Doncaster says what she loves most about the sport is gaining immediate close friends.

“All of this year’s rookies have formed a close bond and you know you have people you can rely on both on and off the field,” she says.

Doncaster was recently named Athlete of the Week for her Homecoming performance vs. UPEI.

“It was a big confidence boost to get the recognition,” she says. “I want to do my best here and improve because this will be the peak of my soccer career.”

A centre back, Doncaster says captaining her teams growing up has helped her develop strong leadership skills. She credits her most memorable sporting moment as her first nationals’ appearance.

“I was the youngest player on the team and playing against top level teams and being in front of university scouts really opened my eyes to where soccer could take me,” says Doncaster.

A Commerce/psychology student and a member of the Right to Play club, Doncaster has learned the importance of time management during her first couple of months on campus. She has developed a sense of pride in being a student-athlete at ������ú.

“I have pride in representing a school with such a great reputation. It feels good to be a student-athlete here.”