Chasing the Tide: Former Dal women’s soccer player recruited to the pros

After years of training with the Dalhousie Tigers soccer team, former captain Megan Chiasson has signed a contract with Halifax Tides FC for the remainder of the 2026 season. 

Chiasson played four seasons at Dalhousie University and captained the Tigers for the latter three. She led the team to a top-10 spot in U Sports last season.

Growing up in Lower Sackville, N.S., Chiasson says she has always dreamed of playing professional soccer. She never guessed she could do that without ever leaving home. 

“It really feels like I can be a role model for people who live here too,” says Chiasson. “It’s possible; you don’t have to come from away to be able to play pro.” 

Chiasson had always been in conversation with the Tides and began training with them when the club started. Though she didn’t initially make the team, she kept showing up and kept training while continuing her academic and athletic career at Dal. 

A few weeks ago, Chiasson received the news of her recruitment to the pros.

“As soon as the call was over, it was just instant tears,” says Chiasson. “Weightlifted. All of my hard work … definitely paid off.” 

Because Chiasson never had to leave home, she has cultivated a local community of support —  from the kids she used to coach growing up to all her former teammates at Dal.

Sally Steinberg, a fourth-year biochemistry student and Dal women’s soccer player, played with Chiasson for three years.

“She was genuinely the hardest-working person I’ve ever met in my life,” says Steinberg. “She brought 100 per cent effort to every practice and every single game, and she expected that from her team every single game. She held us all accountable.”

Cindy Tye, Dal’s athletic director and head coach of the women’s soccer team, says Chiasson trained with both the Tides and the Tigers’ soccer program for over six years.

“She was definitely very invested in trying to make the program better,” Tye says. “She would work hard for the program, away from the fields, whether it was organizing team events or being responsive when things needed to get done.”

On the field, Chiasson’s dedication and competitiveness pushed the entire team forward. 

“I hope to leave a legacy of being so competitive,” says Chaisson. “That it’s okay to be a competitor, to take it seriously, to die by it on the field. I’m willing to die out there to get it done.” 

After attending the Tigers’ first home game this season, Chiasson was excited about the program’s future, and says she saw the same competitive nature in everyone on the pitch. 

“The way that she led helped others understand what the standard was, and now they’re doing it in their own way,” says Tye. “That’s the sign of a great leader.”

Chiasson praised the program, including all coaching staff and her teammates, for helping her advance to the next level of play.  

“One of the big lessons that I learned at Dal was you don’t need to be comfortable,” she says. “Be uncomfortable, because your ceiling is so much higher than you would expect it to be.”