International students join soccer goal rush

There’s nothing Lauren Neilson likes more than kicking with a Canadian Club. The only thing missing is the ice. 

Kicking goals that is. And plenty of them.

There’s also Japanese, Germans, Norwegians, Taiwanese and Indigenous Australian players in Bond University soccer club that has taken the Division 2 competition by storm since returning to the field this year for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-two-year-old Canadian Lauren Neilson is the star striker for the Bull Sharks who have scored 49 points in their opening three wins to sit comfortably on top of the table.

The club is the United Nations of Bond sport which Neilson says has helped her settle quickly into life in Australia.

“I’ve made so many friends already which is my favourite thing about the team,” she said.

“Everyone is from all over the world and there’s a few of us Canadians, we’re all away from home and that has probably helped us bond so quickly and I can’t wait to see what out on-field connection is going to be like as we get more familiar playing with each other.

“I also get to see many different styles of play and I hope that will make me a better player.’’

Neilson hammered a lazy five past the keeper in her first game for the Bull Sharks in what must surely rank as one of the great debuts.

It was her first game of soccer in over three years, but she did arrive on the Gold Coast with some pedigree as a junior.

She started playing around the age of eight and by the time she was 13 was playing in division 1. She also played in the Alberta Major Soccer League where her team won silver for outdoor and indoor provincials. 

She now has 11 goals to her name for the season. 

“The league we are in is not as competitive as I am used to back home, but I have also had a few years away from the game so it’s probably just right for me,” she said.

“And we’ve been playing so well that there is already talk that we might go up a division, so that would be interesting to see where we end up.’’

Neilson is in her first semester of a Bachelor of Laws with a specialisation in Canadian Law and like all the students who arrive in summer from the Northern Hemisphere, she was immediately struck by the oppressive heat.

I’ve been here a few months and it had been great so far, although the humidity is taking some getting used to,” she said.

“I can get my law degree quicker studying here and I get to live in Australia also so it’s a double win, I think.

“There’s so many Canadians at Bond that I haven’t felt at all homesick yet. The only thing I’ve really missed is not being able to ski.’’