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FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 | THE GLOBE AND MAILO B13
indsay Agnew has had plen-
ty of time to ponder her re-
cent soccer adventure Down
Under.
The Canadian international
has been in self-isolation in Flor-
ida since returning from Austra-
lia where she played for Sydney
FC in the W-League 2020 Grand
Final – behind closed doors
March 21 at Melbourne’s AAMI
Park in probably the last cham-
pionship decider before the CO-
VID-19 lockdown of the world
sports scene.
Defending titleholder Sydney
lost 1-0 to Melbourne City –
which finished the season un-
beaten – and getting home as the
world started to shut down was
challenging. But Agnew has no
regrets.
It was a chance to play games
that matter – and experience an-
other country.
“I loved it,” she said. “We did
as much as we could outside of
soccer, tried to explore every-
thing Sydney had to offer. It’s a
beautiful city, beautiful people,
lots of nice beaches and good
food.
“I really loved it there. One of
my favourite cities for sure.”
Agnew had played alongside
current Sydney players Sofia
Huerta and Veronica Latsko,
both Americans, in Houston
with the NWSL Dash and the
Australian side needed help after
losing two players to English
teams.
Sydney was interested and Ag-
new, after being waived by Hous-
ton, left in late January for Aus-
tralia. With the regular season
nearing a close, she started five
games including the playoffs.
The W-League, whose season
dovetails nicely with the NWSL,
attracts top international talent
and Agnew says the soccer is
high-level.
The final itself was somewhat
surreal, with COVID-19 having al-
ready shut down almost every
other league around the world.
International players such as Ag-
new were dealing with flight can-
cellations as they planned their
return home.
“There was definitely a lot of
logistical things going on that
whole week leading to the
game,” she said. “Luckily soccer’s
always been kind of my escape
from all the drama of the outside
world so that was nice to have.”
While Australia had not expe-
rienced the virus like other coun-
tries at the time of the cham-
pionship game, there were still
plenty of precautions taken oth-
er than barring spectators – al-
though some friends and family
were allowed in – from the
30,050-capacity stadium
Players didn’t shake hands be-forehand, bowing instead. After-
ward, the Melbourne City players
picked up their winners’ medals
off a table rather than be pre-
sented with them. The Sydney
players got their medals later on.
“Definitely a weird final in
that regard,” Agnew saids.
The game itself was more nor-
mal.
“Soccer’s just soccer when you
get out there. It still felt like a
final out on the field, even
though there was no one there,”
Agnew said.
Sydney fell behind in the 15th
minute on a spilled ball by its
goalkeeper. Agnew’s team had a
shout for a penalty later in the
first half but it wasn’t given and
Melbourne, a team stocked with
internationals, resisted Sydney’s
subsequent attacks to cap off its
unbeaten season.
“I think we gave them a run
for their money,” said Agnew, a
former forward who played full-
backàwingback for Sydney.
Her parents got to watch thegame on YouTube in Canada. In
the States, it was on ESPNÈ.
“One of my friends who I
played with at university texted
me and that said we were the on-
ly live sport on the ESPNÈ app
that day,” Agnew said.
She was supposed to fly out
the Tuesday after the Saturday fi-
nal. But her flight was cancelled
and rescheduled to Monday,
which was then cancelled and
rescheduled to Sunday.
Agnew’s team flew back to
Sydney the night of the game
and had an end-of-season gath-
ering once they got back. She
had to be at the airport at 8 a.m.
the next day.
“A pretty crazy turnaround,”
she said.
The Sydney airport was “cra-
zy,” packed with people looking
to leave before borders closed.
Arriving in Houston, however,
the airport was “like a ghost
town.”
“I’ve never been through im-
migration so fast in my life,” saidAgnew, who slept for 14 hours
straight when she finally rolled
into bed.
While in Sydney, Agnew lived
with Australian Alanna Kennedy
and Latsko, sharing a compact
rental car with the American
striker. They used it to explore
nearby beaches such as Manly,
working out how to drive on the
other side of the road along the
way.
“It was kind of hilarious when
I first got there ... The amount of
times I hit the windshield wipers
when I wanted to hit the indica-
tor,” she said with a laugh.
Agnew was taken 19th over all
by the Washington Spirit in the
2017 NWSL college draft a deco-
rated collegiate career at Ohio
State. She joined Houston in Ja-
nuary, 2018, along with a sixth-
round draft pick, in a trade that
netted Washington the third
overall pick in the 2018 draft.
Now a free agent, she plans to
attend the North Carolina Cour-
age training camp once the
NWSL returns to action.
Having just turned 25, Agnew
has won 14 caps for Canada, most
recently playing against Brazil
and New Gealand in a tourna-
ment in China in November. Part
of last summer’s World Cup ros-
ter, she hopes to crack the Olym-
pic team for Tokyo next year.
Agnew was born in Kingston,
where her father Gary Agnew
was coach of the OHL’s Kingston
Frontenacs. Now an associate
coach with the Utica Comets, the
Vancouver Canucks’ AHL farm
team, Gary was previously an as-
sistant coach and interim head
coach of the Columbus Blue Jack-
ets, an assistant coach with the
Pittsburgh Penguins and head
coach of the AHL Syracuse
Crunch and OHL London
Knights.
Lindsay is staying with her
parents in Florida, with her fa-
ther also idle with the AHL sea-
son suspended due to the virus.
“He’s been my training bud-
dy,” said Agnew, whose self-isola-
tion ends Sunday.THE CANADIAN PRESSnewhastimetorefectoneïperience own4nder
Canadianinternational
soccerplayerhasbeen
inself-isolationsince
returningfromstint
withSydneyFC
NEIL DAVIDSON
Lindsay Agnew of Sydney FC and Aivi Luik of Melbourne City vie for the ball during the 2020 W-League Grand
Final at a nearly empty AAMI Park on March 21 in Melbourne, Australia.DANIEL POCKETT/GETTY IMAGESREPORT ON BUSINESS |