CWU women’s soccer player heads to England

ELLENSBURG - After completing her fifth and final season with the Wildcats, Central Washington’s Sophia Keenan will continue her career on another continent.

Keenan will be playing for Solent University in Southampton, England. Back in 2020, Solent was a finalist for the British Universities and Colleges Sport league before the season was canceled early due to the pandemic.

"I am really excited to start this next chapter," Keenan said in a release by the school. "After my fifth year of playing at Central, I knew I wasn't ready to give up the game I love, which pushed me to look into abroad programs. I have always wanted to travel and experience a new culture as well as continue my education, so getting this opportunity could not be more perfect for me!"

While a member of the Wildcats, Keenan played in 70 games, starting 58 of them. She scored 12 goals and six assists for a total of 30 points in her career as a midfielder. The Vancouver native logged a total of 4,240 minutes of game time during her career with Central Washington.

She leaves Ellensburg with four Academic All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference awards and a 2019 first team All-GNAC award. She was also named to the third team All-West Region in 2019 by the United Soccer Coaches. This past season, she was named an honorable mention on the All-GNAC list.

Solent is a public research university in southern England. The school was formerly known as Southampton Solent University and was founded in 2005. Solent finished its recent season in March, ending on a 4-4 draw to Bournemouth University. The draw left them three points shy of a league title.

Keenan will be working towards her master’s degree in sports management while playing for Solent, according to a release by the school.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.