LILLY OF THE ALL-STAR VALLEY

Stellar First Season Nets Portage Goalkeeper All Conference All Star Award

Lilly Mangan isn't someone who likes to take the easy road in life. Leaving the comforts of home to travel across the pond to play soccer in a small northeastern Alberta town would be daunting for many people – but not for the 18-year-old from just south of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. The young Portage College Voyageur firmly believes in the old proverb of "nothing ventured, nothing gained" – and it paid off in spades this past soccer (or as she is used to calling it, football) season.

On October 23, Mangan was named to the ACAC All Conference Team as the North Division's goaltender par excellence. The award is voted on by coaches using a ranking system. Mangan was recognized during an awards banquet at the ACAC Soccer Championships in Lethbridge.

"I didn't know anything about an awards conference at all, so it was kind of shock," says the quiet but friendly goalkeeper, who topped the league in saves made in 2025 with 166.

Head Coach Macky Singh, who recruited the young star to play for the rebuilding Voyageurs, believes the award is well deserved.

"She made a lot of difference in the goal, bringing in a quality as a goalkeeper that kind of lifted everybody up," he says. "You know, I think that's a big thing in terms of where we're trying to progress this program. Having a good goalkeeper is a base where you start and then you build from there. She's been massive for us."

The award put a capper on a whirlwind few months for Mangan, who arrived in Lac La Biche in mid-August having to adapt to not only a new team and new teammates, but also a new education system and a new country. Not that it fazed her or anything. After all, it was something she's been dreaming about for many years.

"I knew I wanted to come out here. Well, I wanted to go to America because I didn't know Canada was an option," says Mangan. "I knew all my friends were staying back home and it just seemed a bit repetitive, that you've already done the same thing for 18 years. I wanted something a bit different that no one from home had already done."

Ironically, for someone who's favourite hype song is titled "Bright Lights Bigger City," it was the chance to play in a small College town that really attracted the former midfielder-turned goalie to become a Voyageur. She turned down several opportunities in the United States to play for Portage College.

"A lot of my options were in cities so the environment here was gonna be more suited towards me," says Mangan, who is enrolled in the Kinesiology and Sports Studies Diploma program.

The Chelsea Football Club fan was also attracted by the chance to help build a soccer program from the ground up.

"Macky told me that it was going to be a completely new team," she says. "A lot of players left last year, and he was getting a lot of new players so it would be a complete rebuild and it would be a challenge. That's something I wanted to be a part of."