Loyola University is located in Baltimore, Maryland and offers more than 50 different programs of study specifically aimed at undergraduate students. The Greyhounds Women’s Soccer team is coming off a superb 2009 collegiate year which saw the squad post a 15-5-3 overall record while going a perfect 9-0-0 against conference competition.
Julia becomes the second Fury graduate in two years to be invited to and accept an offer from Loyola University to play soccer. This past year saw 2009 Youth graduate Tessa McClenahan play her freshman season with the Greyhounds.
A resident of Nepean, Ontario, Julia attended Sir Robert Borden high school for four years and was a highly decorated member of various high school sports teams. While keeping honour-roll marks, she was a four-year participant on the SRB women’s soccer team, basketball team, volleyball team and track and field squad (top-5 in 100m relay in Eastern Ontario). Through her successes in high school sports she was named Sir Robert Borden’s female athlete of the year three times.
Julia’s accomplished soccer journey began at age 7 with the Nepean City Storm where she played until the U14 level. While honing her skills in Ottawa, Hajjar’s soccer talents began to attract the attention of a wider audience – most notably the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association (EODSA) where she played in the Region 5 squad under Fury coaches Colin McCurdy and Steve Hill. Julia’s U14 and U15 seasons were spent captaining the Ottawa OYSL squad where she placed top-10 in the entire league for scoring
Without skipping a beat, Hajjar continued her torrid goal-scoring pace in her U16 and U17 seasons with the Ottawa Fury – leading her team in goals both years and the entire club in scoring in 2008. She was a member of the Fury U17 squad which won silver medals at the US National Cup Finals and USL Super-Y League North American Finals, and that year was named to the SYL’s Olympic Development Program All-Star squad. 2009 saw Julia spending her summer season with the Ottawa Fury’s W-League team – helping the squad reach the Championship Semi-Finals.
Julia’s switch to Loyola comes as the Greyhounds’ program ramps up for a massive 2010 year – hoping to build on a season that saw the team pull off numerous upsets to advance deep into the NCAA Women’s Soccer tournament.
"We are thrilled with the talent level that this incoming class brings to the Loyola women’s soccer program," said Loyola Head Coach Katherine Vettori. "This group will contribute greatly to the Greyhounds in 2010."
Julia would like to thank her friends and her family for all of their support and encouragement throughout the entire soccer journey. She also extends many thanks to all of her many coaches over the years, especially Widdgin Bernard, Kwame Telemaque, and the Fury staff of Steve Hill, Dom Oliveri, John Pugh and Jimmy Zito for their invaluable support. She would like to especially thank Jimmy Zito, as his passion for the game inspired her to push herself and to work to the best of her abilities every time, because he always expected 100 percent. He taught me how to play tactically and helped me to grow and develop as a person and a player.
About Ottawa Fury Soccer Club
The Ottawa Fury Soccer Club is a member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL); the largest system of national soccer leagues in North America. The Fury are members of the W-League and the Premier Development League (PDL). The Fury also operates youth teams in the USL Super-Y League (SYL) and development teams and programs for younger players.
For additional information see the Fury web site at www.ottawafury.com
For more information please contact
Graeme Ivory, Director of Communication & Marketing
613.235.3879 or graeme.ivory@gmail.com