SARNIA – Excitement levels continue to rise ahead of the 2023 season on the field.

Striker Charlize Wildschut has officially announced her commitment to Head Coach Kevin Simmonds and the Lambton Women’s Soccer Program for the 2023 season.

Wildschut is the third member of the 2023 recruiting class for Simmonds and company. She joins Lauren Goldsack (London, Ont.) and Maddy Forte (Sarnia, Ont.) as newcomers with the Women’s Soccer Program.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Wildschut. “After playing soccer my whole life, I’m looking forward to continuing to play for the varsity program at Lambton College.”

Wildschut’s skill set on offense has Simmonds excited for what she may be able to do in terms of putting the ball in the net. Her ability to get her teammates involved was also a key focal point as he watched her play.

“Charlize is a forward who has an attacker’s mentality,” said Simmonds. “She has an eye for the goal and sees the whole field.”

“Charlize is also the type of player who brings others into the game with her passing abilities.”

Wildschut is no stranger to the soccer community in Sarnia-Lambton, as the Sarnia native has honed her skills through her years of experience at various levels during her career. Wildschut comes to Lambton College from Northern Collegiate Institute & Vocational School.

Academically, Wildschut will be enrolled in the Instrumentation & Control Engineering Technology Program.

When Wildschut was asked about what fans can expect to see from her on the field come September, it was her family that chimed in with the first response to the question.

Goals, goals, goals.

“As my friends and family say, I do like to score a lot of goals,” added Wildschut with a laugh. “I also like to talk with my teammates on the field, have good communication, and just make sure that we all have a good time playing the game.”

The Lions are coming off a bit of a rebuilding year in 2022, one that saw several key players on the team get bit by the injury bug at different points throughout the season. The Lions had just eight players with any collegiate experience coming into the season, meaning newcomers were thrust into key roles from the outset of the season.

Now, heading into the 2023 season, Simmonds and the Lions will be looking to use that gained experience from last season to their advantage. One area of focus for Simmonds on the recruiting trail was adding more weapons on offense to put the ball in the net. With the offensively-gifted Wildschut in the mix, the Lions are building towards an exciting future that will officially get started in September.

Welcome to The Den, Charlize!