sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Marie-Claude Dion (born April 25, 1974) is a former Canadian soccer player who played as a defender. She made 27 appearances for the Canadian national team and was part of the squad that won gold at the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship.[1]

Marie-Claude Dion

Personal information
Full name	Marie-Claude Dion
Date of birth	(1974-04-25) April 25, 1974 (age 48)[1]
Place of birth	Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1991–1993	Dynamo de Quebec
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1998	Laval Rouge et Or
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–2000	Dynamo de Quebec
2000	Ottawa Fury
2001	Laval Dynamites
National team
1996–2001	Canada	27	(0)
Honours Women's football Representing  Canada CONCACAF W Championship 1998 Canada
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Born in Quebec City in 1974, Dion started playing soccer in Beauport at the age of eight.[1] She was first noticed by the Canada Soccer Association in 1989, during a tournament played in Edmonton.[2] In 1991, she joined the newly-founded Dynamo de Quebec, who played in the Ligue de soccer élite du Québec (LSEQ).[3]

College career

Dion started studying at Laval University in the fall of 1994; at the time, the school did not have a women's soccer programme.[2] Later that year, a team was finally established, led by Head Coach Helder Duarte, who also coached the Dynamo de Quebec.[2][4] In her first year playing for the Rouge et Or, Dion finished first in team scoring with 12 goals and was named to the U Sports All-Canadian Second Team.[5][6] Additionally, she was named to the RSEQ First Team All-Star and voted the RSEQ Rookie of the Year.[7][8] In her second season, she won the Chantal Navert Memorial Award, which is awarded annually to the U Sports women's soccer Player of the Year,[8][9] and was named to the U Sports All-Canadian First Team for the first time.[8] She also won the RSEQ Player of the Year award and was included in the RSEQ First Team All-Star for the second consecutive season.[10][8] In her third year, she received RSEQ First Team All-Star and U Sports All-Canadian Second Team honours again.[8] In her final season with the team, she was once again named the RSEQ Player of the Year and received RSEQ First Team All-Star honours for the fourth straight year.[11][8] She was also named to the U Sports All-Canadian First Team for the second time.[8] Thus, in April 1999, she was one of six athletes to be honoured at the annual Gala du Mérite Sportif Rouge et Or.[12]

Club career

After graduating from Laval University, Dion briefly relocated to British Columbia to pursue her soccer career.[3] From 2000 to 2002, she played in the USL W-League.[3] In 2000, she played for the Ottawa Fury.[13] The following year, she signed for the Laval Dynamites.[14]

International career

Dion was the first-ever female player from Quebec to be invited to a Canadian national team camp.[3] She was part of the team that represented Canada at the 1993 Summer Universiade in Buffalo, New York, coached by Sylvie Béliveau.[3]

On May 12, 1996, at the age of 22, Dion made her debut for the national team in Worcester, Massachusetts, playing the full 90 minutes in a 6–0 loss to the United States at the 1996 Women's U.S. Cup.[15] In 1997, she played again at the 1997 Women's U.S. Cup.[7][1] One year later, she was part of the team that won the 1998 CONCACAF Women's Championship, which served as a qualifier for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.[1][2] In 2000, she participated at the 2000 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, where Canada finished in fourth place.[1] She made her 27th and final national team appearance on March 15, 2001, in a 2–1 victory over Portugal at the 2001 Algarve Cup.[16]

Dion officially retired from the national team in the summer of 2002, at the age of 28.[2]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Canada[1]	1996	5	0
	1997	3	0
	1998	8	0
	1999	2	0
	2000	8	0
	2001	1	0
Total		27	0

Honours

International

Canada

• CONCACAF Women's Championship: 1998[1]

Individual

• FSQ Female Senior Player of Excellence: 1996[1]
• FSQ Female Youth Elite Player: 1995[1]
• Chantal Navert Memorial Award: 1996[8]
• RSEQ Player of the Year: 1996, 1998[8]
• U Sports All-Canadian First Team: 1996, 1998[8]
• U Sports All-Canadian Second Team: 1995, 1997[8]
• RSEQ First Team All-Star: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998[8]
• RSEQ Rookie of the Year: 1995[8]

References

External links

• Marie-Claude Dion at the Canada Soccer Association

---