Passion and Pride

Although stepping onto a soccer field is something Mia Pante has done many times, this occasion was a little more special. This time, Pante got to wear her country’s name and the iconic maple leaf proudly across her chest as she was warming up to compete in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in August.

“It was an awesome experience,” Pante said. “Being chosen to represent the best-of-the-best in Canada and play against the best-of-the-best in the world was such an honor.”

Pante started all three matches for Canada in the U20 Women’s World Cup. The Vancouver, British Columbia native was one of 21 players chosen to compete for Canada at the world championship.

“She gets benefits from both sides of it,” Texas A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. “Playing at the international level, number one, is a cool experience to represent your country. It is also such a good cultural experience to be able to go to these different countries and play against these different countries where every game is important. Anytime she goes into a training camp or a world competition, we think that her getting better and getting those experiences helps our team because she brings those experiences back to our players who don’t get a chance to experience that.”

Pante has stood out on the field and as a selfless leader for her team since arriving in Aggieland. In her rookie campaign, she played in 15 games, including 13 starts, logging 867 minutes on the pitch. With the Aggies losing much of their firepower to injury early in the season, Pante was converted from a defender toa winger and didn’t skip a beat. She finished the year fourth in the SEC in assists with eight and earned a spot on the 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team.

“I felt like my freshman year was a season of a lot of growth and learning,” Pante said. “In the Baylor match [in the preseason], I scored a goal and Phil [Stephenson] and Coach G said they were going to make me a wide winger. At first, I thought they were joking, but that’s where I ended up playing. The experience has made me such a better player and it was something that helped me when going back to play for Canada.”

“It is always an honor to represent your country at an international level. To be amongst the best in Canada, I am challenged every day and get better every day. To play against the best from the other countries is such a cool experience…"

-Mia Pante

Pante consistently played at the highest level in Canada and was selected to train for the Vancouver Whitecaps REX Elite program, which helps feed Canadian youth teams to the national team. She had her first experience with the national team at age 14. This exposure led to college coaches being able to watch Pante play at many events and to her connection to Coach Guerrieri.

“We have scoured all of North America looking for the best players possible,” Guerrieri said. “I have a good friend who is one of the higher ups in the Vancouver Whitecaps organization and coordinates their residency program. The year before, we were able to sign Andersen Williams. I wanted to keep a pipeline going as much as we could. I went back looking for somebody who can come in as a defender and potentially step into the shoes that were going to be left by Jimena Lopez when she graduated. We went up and Mia was who I wanted to see. I was super impressed with her as a player, but also with the way she trained and her personality.”

As an early enrollee, Pante came in the spring before her freshman year ready to start training as other early enrollees do, but COVID altered that plan and prevented her from getting that exposure to the collegiate level of play in the spring.

“Enrolling early was a great decision as far as getting acclimated to college play and Texas A&M,” Pante said. “But not getting to actually play in games was hard. It was fun getting to see all the success, but the player in me really wanted to be out there helping the team out.”

Pante is accompanied at A&M by fellow Canadians in Williams and Bella Lister all who also played in the Vancouver Whitecaps REX Elite program. Williams was the first Canadian to come to Texas A&M and despite being injured the past two seasons, she has played in over half the games this year and is expected to continue to help the attack. Lister is the most recent addition for the the Maroon & White arriving in Aggieland ahead of 2022 fall camp.

“I’m close to everyone on the team,” Pante said, “but there’s a closer sense of family with the Canadians on the team. We’ve known each other for so long and played together. It also helps that we all are going through the same things as far as playing so far from home.”

Pante played a crucial role in Canada qualifying for the World Cup. She competed in all seven matches at the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship as Canada earned a spot with a bronze medal match victory over Puerto Rico, 2-0. Pante started on the backline that allowed just one goal in 630 minutes at the tournament, as they outscored opponents 32-1 and posted six shutouts. She also scored a goal in Canada’s victory over Cayman Islands.

“It is always an honor to represent your country at an international level,” Pante said. “To be amongst the best in Canada, I am challenged every day and get better every day.  To play against the best from the other countries is such a cool experience where Canada is tested with different strengths other countries bring. Right now, it is such a cool time to be a part of Canada Soccer's national team program. We are on the rise, there is so much growth happening throughout the program. The women's senior national team just won gold at the Olympics and the men's senior national team just qualified for the World Cup, which is a huge accomplishment.”

Playing in the U20 World Cup caused Pante to miss the Aggies’ opening match of the season, but she has not missed a beat since. She has started all 14 matches since returning and has logged five points on one goal and three assists. Most recently, her free kick in the 87th minute was a perfect setup for Karlina Sample and Maile Hayes, as they connected on the game-winning goal at Ole Miss.

Pante’s work ethic at Texas A&M and playing for Canada has made an impression on her teammates as well. 

“Playing with girls who are the best from your entire country is a privilege and I don’t think she takes that for granted,” Texas A&M co-captain Katie Smith said. “She really takes what she has learned from these camps and brings it to us and tries to get us to that level as well.”

The 12th Man has become accustomed to Pante’s buccaneering runs and precision services into the box which make here a fan-favorite at Ellis Field. In turn, the Maroon Militia has earned Pante’s admiration.

“Playing soccer in College Station has been incredible,” Pante said. “I scored my first collegiate goal there and it felt amazing. There are not many women's soccer teams that get crowds like A&M does at Ellis Field.  The passion and pride the 12th Man has for its school and athletic teams is really cool.”

Unlike the United States and other women’s soccer powerhouses, Canada does not currently have a U23 program. For Pante, her next goal is making the senior national team. Until then, all her attention is on getting the Aggies back on top of the SEC and among NCAA elite squads.