Calgary Wild FC excited to finally play in front of hometown fans

The Wild will play their long-awaited home opener on Sunday, and the team would love to make the game something the fans will remember.

After starting the season on the road for three games, Wild FC will finally play their home opener in the Northern Super League on Sunday in Calgary when they host Ottawa Rapid FC.

Grace Stordy was born and raised in Calgary. The 23-year-old right fullback had always dreamed of playing professionally in her home city, and on Sunday, that dream will become a reality. Stordy is beyond excited.

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“I’m super pumped,” she said.

“I think it’s been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more grateful to represent this city, and I think we have some fiery fans and I’m excited to see the turnout for this Sunday.”

McMahon Stadium will be all shined up for the Wild’s first-ever home game. The team has been practising there the last two days and Stordy says it feels great.

“I think we’re pretty spoiled,” she said.

“We’re lucky to have Calgary and McMahon lay this turf out for us. It’s fresh and it’s new, so it will take some time to get used to, but I think we’re definitely lucky with what we have set up here.”

No time to panic

The Wild are off to a 1-2 start to the season. They lost in Vancouver, picked up their first victory in Halifax and then lost to Toronto.

Captain Meggie Dougherty Howard says there’s no need to panic as there’s plenty of season left.

“What I’ve learned through playing for so many years is it’s not necessarily how you start, it’s how you finish and how you grow into the season,” said the 29-year-old midfielder.

“Even though we haven’t gotten all the points we would’ve hoped for, I think you’ve seen progress in every game we’ve played, and we’ve learned something from every game.”

Confident in the group

Despite being under .500, head coach Lydia Bedford agrees the team has done a lot of good things to start the year.

But as with anything, you’re judged on your wins. Bedford says she’s confident her team will put on a great show for the hometown fans on Sunday.

“I’d love for this place to have more than 15,000 people in it on Sunday and for it to be absolutely rocking,” she said.

“I don’t know that we’ll get there, but what I know about this town is the moment people come and watch us play, they’ll be like, ‘Win, lose or draw, this is really nice to watch,’ and it’s great football, and it’s only going to get bigger.”

Right now, ticket sales are at about 5,500 for Sunday’s game, and the Wild would love to have that increase by 30 per cent before game time. Kickoff between the Wild and Ottawa is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.