From Thunderbirds glory to NSL stage, Rollins makes her mark

TORONTO - From UBC’s kinesiology classrooms to AFC Toronto’s pitch, 19-year-old Sarah Rollins’ return home as the Northern Super League’s second-youngest star is a milestone for both herself and the future of Canadian women's soccer.

Her journey, marked by consecutive U-Sports titles as a Thunderbird, including a perfect 20-0 run in 2024, has made Rollins AFC Toronto’s first Canada West signing in the NSL. The Toronto native’s ambition will help usher in an era where young Canadian women’s soccer players can envision a seamless transition from university to professional, north of the border.

As Rollins paves the way, she will have her first opportunity to make an impact on the league as the NSL launches on April 16, 2025, with AFC Toronto facing Montreal Roses FC at BMO Field three days later.

Once limited by a lack of domestic options, Rollins now finds herself excited by the prospect of the NSL as a groundbreaking stage for young players in Canada to develop their game without leaving the country. 

For Rollins, who started kicking a ball around local Toronto parks at just three years old, leagues like the NWSL or the WPL seemed like a distant fantasy. “Everyone would ask me if I was gonna go pro? And I was like, no. It wasn't even something that I could think of because it's almost impossible to,” Rollins said in an interview over zoom. “Then people were whispering about the Northern Super League and then that's where it kind of opened my mind.”

The birth of the NSL gives players like her the chance to escape the challenges of travel costs, visa hurdles, and homesickness and instead find a way in the sport here at home.

The up-and-coming centre-back’s love for soccer started at the ripe age of four years old when her parents introduced her to the sport that intrigued her through a mix of competition and friendship. 

By the time she reached high school her talent stood out from the rest but her hope to eventually reach the professional level was narrow. The NWSL felt like a long shot, and Europe even more so with the quality of game being so high.

It wasn’t until she laid her eyes on the University of British Columbia and its elite program, that she began to contemplate her possibilities. “I saw UBC as a program that could compete in the D-1 level and the way it was presented was so above every other Canadian university,” she said. 

A big part in her decision to move West was Jesse Symons. Symons was appointed as head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds in May 2016 and has impressed since joining the team. “I saw what Jesse Simons was like, he seemed like the real deal to me. His program, the way he coaches, it’s great.” Rollins said.

The move might have been obvious for Rollins, but it was far from easy.

“I just had a really hard time joining a team that was already a team, it was really difficult,” she said, reflecting on her biggest challenges in adapting to her new environment. It would not take long however for Rollins to find her footing, helping UBC to a national championship in 2023, while only conceding four goals. The following year, despite injury setbacks early on in the season, the Thunderbirds kept a perfect 20-0 record on a back-to-back title run. “That’s when I knew I could do this,” she said, with confidence at an all-time high as she eyed the next step.

That next step was the NSL, a league consisting of six teams spread across the country from coast-to-coast. After impressing in her two years in BC, it did not take long for AFC Toronto to come knocking, and it was an easy call for the former North Toronto Nitros player who would be reunited with old coaches in doing so.

Rollins’ had no intention of undermining the transition from U-Sports to the professional level, admitting that there would be two major differences.

“Competitiveness and the skill level,” she said.

Clare Kinsella served as Girls Academy Director at local soccer club Power FC from 2022-2025, following a successful career overseas. “In U-Sports, you’re prepping for the next season,” said Kinsella, who has helped develop numerous players into future Canadian prospects. “In the pros, you’re playing to stay in the league.”

Kinsella believes the NSL will be challenging for those players looking to go pro, but she sees it as an opportunity for girls in Canada to bridge the gap. “For a long time, there was nothing after university unless you went overseas,” she said. “Now, it’s a tangible pathway.”

For Rollins, the jump from UBC to AFC is a chance to test herself with, and against, the country’s best like Jade Kovacevic, the league's first marquee signing. “You’re not the best anymore, you’ve got to work harder,” Rollins said, understanding her shift from being one of the first names on the team sheet, to fighting for her spot on it.

That shift is one that many more will make down the line. The introduction of the Northern Super League has rewritten the script for Canadian women’s soccer, and more players will filter in through the university system into the professional level.

Rollins will be the first of many to make their mark on the NSL, and her journey offers a peak at what homegrown talent can accomplish in Canadian soccer.