Freedom Ringing - TransAtlantic Cup Preview

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And from where we sit, the growth of women’s Aussie Rules is the apple of our collective eyes.

Women’s footy was repressed for many years in Australia, and seen as a curiosity when leagues started to be formed.  But by the 2000’s, there was growth and the will to make something sustainable.  By the 2010’s, there were calls for a professional league in line with their men’s counterpart, and that all came to a head in 2017 with the birth of AFLW.

Progress has also been palpable overseas.  Here in the US, there were a handful of women playing, but with the “wrap rule” instead of tackles.  A Women’s division was added in 2005 with three teams playing nine-a-side.  Two decades later, there are 30 women’s clubs in the USA, more than 500 women playing, and a strong Nationals competition that produces some of the most competitive matches each year.

Part of the burgeoning success has been the women’s National team, known as the Freedom. They are pioneers in their own right; a successful tour of Australia in 2009 helped convince the AFL to add a women’s division for the 2011 AFL International Cup.  Since then, the dream of representing team USA in international play has blossomed and been a tremendous carrot for the next generation of athletes.

After a fourth place finish in the 2017 AFL International Cup, the Freedom were looking to reach even higher in 2020.  But it wouldn’t be until 2023 before the American women’s team would take the field again, renewing the 49th Parallel Cup against Canada.  It was an arm-wrestle of a match that saw the Freedom fall by nine points.

A year has passed, but now a new and bigger challenge looms: the 2024 AFL TransAtlantic Cup.  Seven years after their last major tournament, coach Andrew Donlen and his contingent are keen to bring home the program’s first championship in intercontinental play.

“We had a successful camp in Houston in May where we got to know each other as a group,” Donlen told USAFL.com.  “Most of the squad played in regionals and the team have been challenging each other to improve both  fitness and skill levels.”

What: 2024 AFL TransAtlantic Cup
Where: Colonel Sam Smith Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: August 2-11
How to watch: Via aflcanada.com

This iteration of the women’s national team may very well be one of the most athletic the program has fielded.  There is a diverse sporting background among them, and there is a range of experience at the international level.  This is highlighted in their two Co-Captains, Catherine Georgiadis of the Minnesota Freeze and Denver Bulldog Alison Leonard.  Both are talented on and off the field; Georgiadis is a surgeon, while Leonard is set to complete her PhD in bioengineering.

“I am eager for the opportunity to compete at the highest level against some of the best teams from around the world,” stated Georgiadis stated. “It's a chance for the Freedom to showcase our unity, camaraderie, and skills and the progress our program has built throughout the years.

“Georgie,” as her teammates know her, played in the IC14 side that finished third, and picked up an All-World Team nod in the process.  She added that being named co-captain ”signifies the culmination of years of hard work and dedication and motivates me to lead by example and strive for team excellence.  It is a privilege to compete on this international stage and to inspire the growth of women's footy in the USA through our passion and commitment to the sport.”

Leonard, meanwhile, began playing in 2016 for Seattle and then came to Colorado for her PhD. She was named to the 2020 IC team that never got the chance to play. She called her debut in last year’s 49th Parallel Cup, what she called her proudest moment in sports, but was eager to finally play in a major tournament.

“I'm most looking forward to competing with my teammates every day,” Leonard said. “Spending time together and building our identity as a team every day. We have a strong team and I'm excited to show the world what we can do together.

“Representing Team USA is an honor and privilege that means so much to me and every player who puts on the Freedom jumper. It symbolizes the hard work we've put in to excel, both in sports and our careers, and our pride in our families and our communities who have supported us.”

One of Leonard’s former teammates in Seattle, Amy Kahr, has gone on to play in Australia.  Kahr went to the NTFL Grand Final in February with St Mary’s, and is now playing for Vermont FC in the Melbourne Suburbs. “I'm so excited to reunite in Toronto after her year playing in Australia and to see how she's stepped up her game even further,” Leonard said.

Kahr is one of three players on this roster who have played in the NTFL.  Grizzly April Munn won a premiership with the Southern Crocs in 2020, and the year before that, Golden Gate Iron Maiden Jess Blecher played for Nightcliff. “I've played against Jess since the beginning of our USAFL careers, driving down I5 between Seattle and Portland. She's become such a dominant and confident player, and I was so excited that she's come back to the Freedom program.

Georgiadis will have plenty of company from her Minnesota Freeze teammates, who have launched themselves into prime position to win their first USAFL Women’s National Championship come October.  Lindsey Bec (née Eliasen) and Kaiya Sygulla have swept the awards at the last three tournaments, and Connor Lewis has become a strong defensive anchor.

“I'm thrilled to be playing alongside so many talented Freedom players from around the country,” added Georgiadis. “I am eager to take the field with each and every one of them. I am excited to play alongside my Freedom team mates who have been playing in Australia and learn from their unique experiences and insights.”

The team is eager to open the tournament with their matchup against Ireland, who some fancy as the carnival favorites.  But Leonard has her eyes on the matchup against France for a special reason.  

“My mom's parents came to the US from France after WWII, and I'm proud of that heritage and their story. Ever since I found out France was fielding a team I've been looking forward to that matchup.”

A look now at who the Freedom will face and when:

Game 1: vs Irish Banshees - August 2. 10am EDT
Series Record: Ireland leads 2-0

Gaelic Football is close enough to Aussie Rules that crossovers from one sport to the other are pretty common. Irish women have put a pretty deep stake in Aussie Rules, from the AFLW level where a couple of dozen Irish Nationals play at top grade footy, all the way down to the rep squads. The Banshees have appeared in all three International Cup finals, winning in 2011 and 2017, were European champs in 2019 and 2022, and have lifted the 9-a-side Euro Cup six of the last eight seasons.  In two games against the USA, they were victorious but not overly dominant.  Most of the club has changed since IC17, but there are a couple of vets left over.  Marie Keating is the most notable; the Cork Vikings midfielder played in all three IC women’s tournaments, and Sarah O’Donovan was there for the IC17 winner.

Game 2: vs Les Gauloises de la France - August 4, 2pm EDT
Series Record: Tied 0-0

Though France’s women’s program has a strong roots in their national program, this will be the first appearance in a major tournament as a stand-alone side.  Prior to 2022, their 18-a-side program played as part of the European Crusaders, and a number of Les Gauloises took part in IC17.  Naïma Ait El Mouden is the only current player on this year’s roster from that carnival. That said, roughly half of the French team has played in either the Euro Cup, European Championships, or the ANZAC Cup (where France plays Australia), including ruck-captain Clotilde Decaux and vice-captain Jospehine Vidonne. Just as the Irish team has a strong background in Gaelic Football, most of Les Gauloises are also rugby players.

Game 3: vs Great Britain Swans - August 6, 2pm EDT
Series Record: Great Britain leads 1-0

The British Isles love their football - association, two types of rugby, Gaelic, you name it – and Aussie Rules is no exception. The England Vixens were in seven straight Euro Cup 9-a-side finals from 2014-22, winning twice, and the Swans won the first women’s European Championship in 2016 over Ireland. The Banshees would get their revenge a year later in the IC17 semis, scoring two goals in the last five minutes to edge out Team GB from a date in the final.  They would then edge the Freedom in the 3rd place game, the only matchup between the team.  Entering as the defending European runners up, the Swans are a well seasoned team with 21 of their players having earned caps.  Co-Captains Ellie Hancock and Kayleigh Aylmer are among the two Swans who are hoping to ping the Banshees back and make it to the final.

Game 4: vs Canada Northern Lights, Colombia Jaguares, or Consolation Match - August 8
Series Record vs Canada: Canada leads 8-2
Series Record vs Colombia: Tied 0-0

Following the three pool games, the top two in each group will play off against each other for a spot in the final at 2pm.  If the US achieves this, they’ll either face Colombia for the first time, or take on a familiar foe… Canada.  Should they finish in third, they’ll have a consolation battle against an opponent from their first three games at 10am.

Building out women’s football from scratch in a new market can be difficult. That hasn’t been the case in Colombia, where the Bogata Bulldogs and Antioquia Lions have slowly brought in new, local players from across the region. Irrespective of how they do during the next ten days, just getting to the TAC and putting their country on the Aussie Rules map will be a victory.  A group of Bulldogs did defeat a traveling American contingent back in 2019, so there is some talent and skill within the group.  Captain Stefania Gualteros just came back from a five month stint in Australia where she played with the Darebin Falcons, and vice captain Laura Garcia represented her country in rugby union.

Looming in the background is an eleventh matchup with the Northern Lights. Whereas it’s been the Americans who have dominated the cross-border rivalry, it’s been the Canadians who have had sway in women’s football. They’ve gone toe-to-toe with Ireland in all three International Cup grand finals, winning in 2014 at Punt Road in Melbourne. They’ve produced professional level players over the years and keep consistently producing on the field.  The Northern Lights downed the Freedom in the IC17 semifinal, and also the first 49th Parallel Cup meeting in eight years by nine points, pressuring the USA into just one goal from nine scoring shots.  Tricia Rolfe’s team has just four international rookies on it, with vets such as Leslie Gurba, Erin Loughnane, and the Legault Sisters, Aimee and Margo, going all the way back to the 2010 Parallel Cup there to anchor the side.

Game 5: vs TransAtlantic Cup Grand Final or Consolation Match – August 10 or 11

The Freedom will seek to advance to their first ever major tournament final if they can negotiate the group stage and the semifinal.  If they do that, they’ll play against the winner of Group B in a rematch for the TransAtlantic Cup championship on Sunday, August 11.  Otherwise, they’ll play the third place team of their group - either Canada or Colombia - to round out their tournament on Saturday the 10th.