On October 20th (2024), Sudbury soccer sensation Cloé Lacasse ruptured her ACL and sprained her MCL while playing for the Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Though she would return to NWSL action last August, it is the year that has been 2026 that has truly defined, once again, the incredible resiliency of the graduate of École secondaire Macdonald-Cartier who took a rather unconventional route to national team status.

Lacasse started in all 30 Utah games this summer, netting eight goals, second only to Mina Tanaka on her team and will help lead the Royals into their quarter-final battle on Friday against the San Diego Wave. Recently, the 33 year-old Olympian and member of the Canadian World Cup team in 2023 (Australia) saw action with Team Canada in a matchup with Denmark as the women prepare for World Cup qualifiers at the end of November.

“With an injury like that, you’re never really sure if you’re going to be that athlete that you were,” said Lacasse, who is also set to be married to former AAA and NOJHL star and Valley East native Darcy Haines in December. “For me, there came that moment where I thought: you’re back, you’re strong, you’re healthy – and you’re doing the thing that you love to do.”

And doing it quite well, apparently.

This summer, Lacasse made the list of the 25 best NWSL players in 2026 compiled by staff at ESPN, recognized as number four in that group of elite talent. “It’s definitely cool to get noticed and get recognized, but the biggest difference this year is that we’ve had a lot of individuals on this team get so many different accolades that we haven’t gotten in the past,” said Lacasse, who starred with the Iowa Hawkeyes of the NCAA following her graduation from ESMC.

“It’s been a cool progression for the club.”

Emerging from the ranks of the unheralded is hardly a new phenomenon for Lacasse, who rose to prominence and finally caught the attention of Team Canada brass when she not only was signed by Benfica FC but also helped lead the team time and time again, netting more than one hundred goals during her years in Portugal (2019-2023).

It wasn’t until 2021, at the age of 28, that Lacasse would step on to the pitch while representing her country in game action for the very first time, named as Canada’s Player of the Match in a friendly versus Mexico.

“It’s always nice to be back with the girls, reconnecting with the girls and wearing the maple leaf, representing your country,” she said. “After an injury like that, you don’t always get that shot again. The national team maintained really good communication while I was injured.”

“That was a good moment because I knew that they cared and wanted to support me through that.”