When building a house, there is nothing more important than a reliable, steady foundation. It is what you lean upon when the going gets tough. It’s the backbone of a structure. It’s what allows you to build bigger and better in years to come.
In the case of the UNBC Women’s Soccer team, one of those major foundational pieces was goalkeeper Jordan Hall.
No player in the country was handed a tougher task, and no player stepped up with as much leadership, ability, and courage, making Hall a much-deserving inductee into the Timberwolves Wall of Honour.
After a tremendous youth career with PGYSA and a decorated athletic career with College Heights Secondary, Hall committed to the Timberwolves in 2011.
Hall was joined in a strong recruiting class by her twin sister Sydney, along with promising pieces Tanya Grob and Sydney Wilson. The Timberwolves, like many other young programs, were destined to suffer many growing pains, but adding Hall as the last line of defense would prove to be a program-changing move.
“Growing up in Prince George, being able to play for our hometown program was incredible. The chance to play in front of our friends and family was so motivating,” said Sydney. “I know Jordan valued representing the community and we wanted to contribute to the local sports culture that helped shape our love for the game. It was a chance to help grow and give back to the place that always supported us.”
In 2012-2013, the Timberwolves competed in their first campaign in the CIS, meaning the ask of the young netminder would be herculean. Every weekend, the T-Wolves would take on a program much bigger and more established than they were, while leaning on Hall to weather the storm.
Hall would start all 11 games she appeared in that season, making a Canada West-record 126 saves, many of those stops coming as a direct result of her skill, athleticism, or sheer bravery.
“That first season in CIS, we had a roster of only 16 players and we allowed, by far, the most shots against in the entire league. Jordan stood on her head all season,” said Sidney Roy, who was a rookie that season. “She was amazing, but she was also always the guiding voice of the team. She kept us in so many games we should have been out of. It was her competitive drive. It was her skill. She was an inspiration to many of us, and we wanted to perform and improve for her.”
Hall etched her name in the conference record books on September 29th, 2012, when the T-Wolves took on Mount Royal University. She would make 21 saves, earning a 2-2 draw.
Hall backstopped the program to more firsts on October 13th, 2013, when she stopped every shot that came her way and helped the Timberwolves to a 4-nil victory.
The third-year goalkeeper, who would play all 12 games that year, would show up in the conference record books yet again, making 128 saves to break her own record for most stops in a season.
“Jordan’s value to us was immense. She really had the hardest job in Canada West. Having a keeper behind you who you know is capable making the big saves every time they are called upon – even when that number is sky high – is so important,” said UNBC defender Fiona Raymond. “Without Jordan’s ability on the backline, we would not have had any of the successes we had, or the program would end up having.”
The following season, UNBC continued to close the gap. Hall was, again, sensational. She would turn away 91 shots; a much-reduced total from years past, but still good enough to rank in the top-ten for a single season in conference history.
The 2015-2016 season would mark her final year in a UNBC kit, and the Prince George product had saved some of her most remarkable performances for her senior campaign.
September 19th, 2015 at Thunderbird Stadium against a UBC program that had beaten the Timberwolves 13-nil in the 2012-2013 season. The Thunderbirds would end up winning the 2015 National Championship, but Hall was spectacular. The TWolves were outshot 32-0 in the match, but had to wait until the 86th minute to beat a resilient Hall and pull out a 1-nil victory.
“That game felt like it to 20 years, and every save Jordan made seemed to be more and more impossible,” said Raymond. “We lost it 1-0 on a late goal, but Jordan was an absolute force. It was a performance only possible by one of the best keepers in Canada West history. It will stick in my mind forever.”
The final home match of Hall’s career was against the #1 ranked team in the conference, the Calgary Dinos. The Timberwolves would earn a memorable 0-0 draw with the powerhouse Dinos, thanks to a 12 save performance from Hall, in a game that saw the TWolves outshot 19-0.
At the Canada West level, she started 49 games and made 438 saves – more than 100 more than the next keeper on the career saves list. All four of her CW seasons sit top-ten in the conference’s single-season leaderboard. And she did it all with class, leadership, and immense skill, playing for the program and the community she took so much pride in.
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