Profile: Taryn McKenna

By Arfa Ayub, Staff Contributor

For Taryn McKenna, this year’s goalkeeper for the Dalhousie Tigers women’s soccer team, playing soccer was the natural thing to do.

“My older sisters played soccer so my parents thought why not put the young one in and then I did and my sister’s a goalie so then I followed in her footsteps and I became a goalie,” said McKenna.

McKenna has played soccer for 14 years. Originally from Oakville, Ontario, McKenna graduated from St Thomas Aquinas high school. and is now in her second year at Dalhousie and majoring in Arts.

She came to Dalhousie University “for a bunch of reasons, their soccer program as well as the location. I love Halifax and academics there wasn’t really any reason not to, for me.”

Last year McKenna played behind experienced Dalhousie goalkeeper Heather Armstrong and she says she learned a lot from her. “If she taught me one thing it would be you got to be tough, you got to run through the play, you can’t be timid or else you are not going to make the saves.”

In high school McKenna played volleyball and basketball but she now focuses on soccer. After Dal, McKenna hopes to continue to play soccer competitively.

“My sister was a goalie and I wanted to be just like her. I played it and I fell in love with it and I just thought it’s the perfect position for me because you just get dive all over the ground and get muddy,” said McKenna.

Her favourite memory as a Tiger?

“That’s tough. I would say being undefeated last season was pretty sweet.”

Besides soccer, another of McKenna hobbies is playing guitar.