Image credit: SMU Huskies Athletics

By Marty Hastings

LEAGUE1 BC

Trio of Halifax siblings bolstering Kamloops United lineups

Jun 20, 2025 | 5:51 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops United general manager Lyle Dos Santos might have to consider women’s team defender Molly McLeod for a recruiting position in the front office.

Three siblings from Halifax – sisters Cara and Erin, along with their brother Sean — are playing for the League1 BC club this season, thanks to the touting of McLeod.

“I played with Cara and Erin Freeman at Saint Mary’s [University] in Nova Scotia and I just went up to Cara one day at practice, as she was one of the best people I met out there and best soccer players, and I was like, she needs to play some semi-professional soccer in B.C., so I just said, ‘Hey, Cara. You want to come play in Kamloops?”

Cara moved west last spring in time to join Kamloops United (then Rivers FC) for the 2024 campaign.

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She invited Sean to visit.

“I really enjoyed it, liked the scenery,” said Sean, also a St. Mary’s Huskies soccer player. “I talked to some of the boys and [head coach John Antulov] on the men’s team. We don’t have League1 in Nova Scotia, so I was thinking I’ve always wanted to try playing at that level just to get the experience and I wanted to try living away from home, as well, because I’ve never done that either. So I thought, why not?”

Erin was a ski instructor this past winter at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver and she was not about to pass up on the chance to stay out west this summer and make it three siblings on the pitch for United.

“We have a pretty close-knit family, so all the siblings get along really well and I think it was just such a fun idea for all of us to be out here, minus the one back at home,” Erin said.

Each asked separately what Halifax has that Kamloops needs, they answered the same: the ocean.

“As a Halifax guy, you don’t know how much you miss the ocean until you’re away from it,” Sean said.

They also answered similarly when asked what Kamloops has that Halifax does not, saying they value the tight-knit soccer community in the Tournament Capital, a more intimate hub than the Nova Scotia capital.

“Cara, Erin and Sean, they’re all great people and great soccer players, so I’m so glad they get to now experience Kamloops and Kamloops gets to experience them,” McLeod said. “They’re awesome.”

Kamloops will play host to Nanaimo United on Sunday at Hillside Stadium, with the women kicking off at 11:00 a.m. and the men to follow at 1:30 p.m.

The Kamloops men are 4-5-1 and aiming to snap a five-game losing skid, while the women – 1-9 on the campaign – try to dig out of the league basement.

Neither Nanaimo team is prolific, with the men (0-7-3) winless and in last place while the women (2-6-2) sit second-last in league standings, five points ahead of Kamloops.

“If we can just stay positive, I think it can definitely take a turn and we can win some games coming up ahead,” McLeod said.

Sean Freeman said the men need to find a way to click again and, in the meantime, he will relish the Kamloops experience regardless of recent poor results.

“I love it,” Sean said. “It’s a great training atmosphere, it’s high level, the boys are really nice and so is John.”