Keeper commits to Capers soccer program

By Corey LeBlanc

It took a while, but Tara Isama decided she wanted to stop rather than strike the ball.

It hasn't been long since her soccer journey included time – and success – as both a goalkeeper and a striker.

"I was always back and forth," the 20-year-old said.

As for her start between the pipes, Isama added – with a laugh – "I got thrown into it."

Noting that she has focused on goalkeeping for only just more than three years, she continues to learn a lot about the position.

"I am still fairly new to it," Isama added.

She anticipates the move to CBU – after playing her freshman campaign with the OUA's Laurier Golden Hawks – will help her become "the best version of myself."

"I think they are going to push me in the right direction," Isama offered, noting her belief that she shares the same mindset and goals as her Caper teammates and coaches.

From Dundalk, Ontario – a couple of hours northwest of Toronto – she laced up cleats for the first time, between the ages of four and five, and the seeds were planted for her lifelong passion.

"It definitely influenced me," Isama said of watching her older sister, Erika, play and have success.

Noting soccer provided her with a way to "express myself," she remembered embracing the "great sense of community" she found in the sport.

Over the years, the product of the highly-regarded Woodbridge Strikers developed and sharpened her skills at the club level, along with the Ontario provincial program, before spending her freshman campaign with the Golden Hawks in 2022.

"It was pretty good," Isama offered of her lone university season, one in which she started as a freshman.

She said, "I grew a lot," while realizing that she has "a lot to work on."

Isama has been doing that during her hiatus from university soccer, along with rehabbing from a knee injury that cut her time short on the field with Laurier.

"I think that I see the game well," she offered, when asked about her skill set, while being "very vocal."

Isama added, by tapping into her background playing the position, "I can anticipate what the strikers are going to do."

And, when it comes to challenging opponents, she noted, "I am not afraid."

CBU head coach Ness Timmons, who noted he and the Caper newcomer had conversations during her high school recruiting process, said she is "very athletic and technically sound."

While also pointing to her time as a striker, he added, "Tara has a great grasp of the game."

Timmons also praised her ball stopping and distribution abilities.

"She should be able to help us right away," he said, noting that the recovery from her knee injury will be a "big factor" in how everything unfolds.

"We are going to ease her in, we don't need to rush anything" Timmons added.

He and his coaching staff expect her to form a "terrific tandem" with CBU sophomore Ellie Lancaster – the Fall River, Nova Scotia native who earned an AUS first-team all-star nod in 2023.

Targeting a return to action in June or July – in time to play a summer season – Isama predicted that she will be ready to go for her first CBU training camp in late August.

"I am still thinking about it," the student-athlete – who will be studying in CBU's Sport and Physical Activity Leadership program – said of her career aspirations.

Isama, who was scheduled to visit the CBU campus this month, noted that, on and off the field, "I just want to find my place."

"I want to make an impact and be the best team player that I can be," she concluded.

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