The new “Canada Generation 8” of Guyana’s Lady Jags

Oct 21, 2023 Sports

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By Colin Benjamin

Kaieteur Sports – Guyana’s Lady Jaguars first gained attention when they appeared in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in Mexico, facing the hosts, Canada & Trinidad and Tobago.

That team was built on “Foundation 8” Guyana heritage Canadian players; The De Souza sisters Kayla & Brianna, Mariam El Masri, Ashley Savonna, Alison Lawrence, Justine & Ashley Rodrigues and Olivia Gonsalves.

They produced memorable moments from scoring two goals versus Mexico in defeat in 2010, then toppling Jamaica and Guatemala in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.

While the team has grown to now include diaspora United States and England players, fast forward to 2023 a new “Canada Generation 8” has emerged.

They include; Raven Edwards-Dowdall, Rylee Traicoff, Savanna Mondesir-Singh, Brianne Desa, Samantha Banfield, Dylana Markarowski, Stefanie Kouzas & Shanice Alfred.

One difference from the 2010 era that came together at senior level, this generation has been able to grow together at youth level.

All these ladies except Stefanie Kouzas have experience playing together in Under-20 tournaments in 2020 where they qualified for Quarterfinals & 2022 in the Round 16. Notably the Guyana Men’s U20s never reached a CONCACAF youth quarterfinals in its history.

When they graduated to senior team and impressed in last year’s CONCACAF 2023 World Cup qualifiers 2-2 draw in Trinidad, potentially an exciting phase for the Lady Jaguars beckons, with the new & old generation combining.

19 year old Samantha Banfield epitomizes this transition from U20 to seniors. She played in three U20s cycles (2020/2022/2023) before making her senior debut in the September window.

“It’s been a blessing to be with the Lady Jags program since the U15 level. I’ve met a lot of girls that I’ve grown up with & I’m eagerly looking forward to the games versus Suriname”, said Banfield.

Banfield & Dylana Markarowski play with York University Women’s Soccer team in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league. Lady Jaguars Assistant coach Paul De Abreu coaches both players at York University to highlight the smooth synergy between club and country the women have at their disposal.

When Guyana drew 2-2 versus Trinidad some key first team players were absent. Two of the starting players who stood out in that contest were Brianna Desa playing at right back and Stefanie Kouzas in midfield.

The 23 year old midfielder Kouzas recalls having a total out of body experience in front of the 20,000 partisan crowd in Tobago.

“That Trinidad game was simply incredible and an amazing experience. It was my debut with the team and it was a match we had to win”, said Kousaz who plays for Montreal based McGill University Women’s team in the Canadian University (U) Sports system.

“Going into this match there was a lot of emotion and I’ve never played in front of such a huge crowd.”

“One moment that was unique for me and I remember talking to coach Ivan (Joseph) at the time, despite the crowd and noise I got into this zone where I was able to block out everything and focus just on the match. It was a total out of body experience”, concluded Kousaz who is of both Guyanese and Greek heritage.

Guyana goes into its double header against Suriname needing potentially two victories given only one team will advance to CONCACAF Gold Cup single game playoff in USA on February 17th 2024. However despite the disappointment of not being able to play at home, the Lady Jags don’t view that as an impediment.

“After the loss against Antigua last month I promised you we will do our best not to feel that way ever again. Yes we would prefer home field in Guyana, but we are going into these Suriname games with the mindset that we don’t care about a single damn thing other than getting full points”, said Desa who plays for League One Ontario Women’s team Simcoe County Rovers FC.

Attacker Shanice Alfred is entering the camp in tremendous form for Seneca College Sting Women’s team. She ended the Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA) season with a record nine (9) goals in a single game.

“I was looking at footage from Suriname and the field over there & it looks like a turf field and for many of us that’s what we have grown up playing on. Reality is the Guyana field is not the best, so I feel we can play our best football on better surfaces whether home or away”, said the 22 year old Alfred who is of Guyana and St.Lucian heritage

“During the last round in Antigua & Barbados we had the GFF Technical director flying out to support us and President Irfan Ali did FaceTime with the team. So we know although we will be away from home – that we will have support”, said 21 year old full-back Rylee Traicoff who plays for Nipising Lakers Women’s Soccer in U Sports Canada.

Many of the ladies have lineages to other nations such as Ukraine, Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Greece, Grenada, but they were all pulled to Guyana as highlighted by the story of Edwards-Downdall that they all have versions of.

“Many people don’t understand how much playing for Guyana means to me”, said Edwards-Dowdall from League One Women’s North Toronto Nitros.

“My grandfather is my connection towards Guyana and he knows how much soccer meant to me. When he passed in 2018 and this opportunity came up, I took it as a sign that he was with me every step of the way. I thank him for creating the opportunity that I didn’t know was possible.”

(Colin Benjamin is the former GFF communications officer during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, also previously with West Indies cricket, Canada Soccer & W Connection FC Trinidad communications.)

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• Brianna, Dylana Makarowski, Guyana’s Lady Jags, Mariam El Masri, Paul DeAbreau, World Cup

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