Photo by: (Ben Solomon/Rutgers Atheltics)
Field Hockey Alumn Sofia Walia to Play with Team Canada
Jan 07 | Field Hockey
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – A Rutgers field hockey alumn will play for their international team. Sofia Walia is set to play for Team Canada, as she was named to the roster for the Women's National Team ahead of the country's South Africa Tour, set for January 5-23.
Team Canada will use the tour as preparation for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier tournament at the beginning of March in Santiago, Chile. Walia is one of 24 athletes named to the squad for the South Africa Trip. The tour will feature training elements and a mix of friendly matches and officially capped contests against South Africa's national team.
Walia, a native of Surrey in British Columbia, came to Rutgers in 2013 via Tamanawis Secondary School in BC when the program was still in the BIG EAST, and was an immediate starter from her first game 'On the Banks'. The back was named Second Team All-BIG EAST and Second Team All-Region as a Freshman and Second Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Region in 2014
Across four years as a Scarlet Knight, she scored 15 goals and had 19 assists across 70 games, finishing her career eighth all-time at RU in assists. She was a two-time Big Ten Player to Watch, Rutgers' Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year, and an Academic All-Big Ten Selection.
She was also profiled by NJ.com as a pioneering student-athlete, being credited as the first Sikh field hockey player in the Big Ten and later profiled by ScarletKnights.com while working as an emergency room nurse in her hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walia previously participated in the Canadian National program prior to coming to Rutgers, including participating in the U-16 National Championships.
Team Canada will use the tour as preparation for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier tournament at the beginning of March in Santiago, Chile. Walia is one of 24 athletes named to the squad for the South Africa Trip. The tour will feature training elements and a mix of friendly matches and officially capped contests against South Africa's national team.
Walia, a native of Surrey in British Columbia, came to Rutgers in 2013 via Tamanawis Secondary School in BC when the program was still in the BIG EAST, and was an immediate starter from her first game 'On the Banks'. The back was named Second Team All-BIG EAST and Second Team All-Region as a Freshman and Second Team All-Big Ten and First Team All-Region in 2014
Across four years as a Scarlet Knight, she scored 15 goals and had 19 assists across 70 games, finishing her career eighth all-time at RU in assists. She was a two-time Big Ten Player to Watch, Rutgers' Sophomore Female Athlete of the Year, and an Academic All-Big Ten Selection.
She was also profiled by NJ.com as a pioneering student-athlete, being credited as the first Sikh field hockey player in the Big Ten and later profiled by ScarletKnights.com while working as an emergency room nurse in her hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walia previously participated in the Canadian National program prior to coming to Rutgers, including participating in the U-16 National Championships.
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