Henderson's landmark 20th career goal ties her with her 'Big Sis' mentor Lemoine

EDMONTON – When Alyx Henderson first walked onto a Griffins women's soccer practice field in 2021, her mentor was there to help guide her as a rookie Canada West player.

Meagan Lemoine, in her final season, was her Big Sis in the Griffins' Big Sis, Little Sis program that pairs veterans and younger players in a bid to create team unity.

One of the greatest scorers in program history, Lemoine recorded 20 Canada West regular season goals and most notably capped her career (2015, 2017-21) by scoring the winner against UBC in the 2021 U SPORTS semifinal that set the stage for MacEwan's national title.

Fast forward to the 2025 season and the shoe is on the other foot.

Henderson is now the fifth-year veteran in the final few weeks of her Canada West career. In an incredible moment of synergy with Lemoine, she matched her by scoring her 20^th career regular season goal in MacEwan's home opener Aug. 29.

"It's definitely an honour because she was my Big Sis and she was such a great player, so it's kind of crazy to think that I'm up there with her," said Henderson. "It's super cool."

Both her and Lemoine are tied for second all-time in MacEwan's U SPORTS era behind teammate Grace Mwasalla, whose total of 32 career goals makes her the active Canada West leader (and 12^th in conference history).

Henderson is also tracking towards the Canada West leaderboard, currently six goals back of the top-20 all-time.

"It doesn't really seem real, if I'm being honest," she said. "But again, it's really cool and I'm grateful for the opportunities that Dean (Cordeiro) has given me and my team has given me. I couldn't have done it without my teammates, so I'm just really grateful for the players that have been around me who've let me do that."

 Meagan Lemoine celebrates after scoring the game-winner off a corner kick against UBC in the 2021 U SPORTS semifinal (Vaughn Merchant photo).

Henderson will lead the Griffins into home action this weekend vs. Regina on Saturday and Saskatchewan on Sunday (both 12 p.m., Edmonton Scottish, Canada West TV).

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"It couldn't have happened to a more hard-working or deserving athlete," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro. "We're very proud of Alyx. She was a meaningful recruit the year we won nationals in 2021. She was an important piece who suited up in all those games, even then. 

"It's just awesome to see how her career has been getting better and better. She's got a lot more goals in her this season that we're excited for."

This is realistically bonus time for Henderson and Mwasalla, who were among the Griffins' graduating senior class last season, thought to be moving on from the program. 

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But both decided to return for their final season of eligibility.

"It was really, really big," said Cordeiro of the moment he found out both of his top scorers were returning. "You have a window of time with these student-athletes, and you want to maximize your time with them. The group that we have, I know we've been battling some injuries, but this is a special group. To be able to bring them all back together for one more opportunity, I think it just puts closure to their careers and gives us another opportunity to have a highly-competitive group. 

"The good thing is we have a lot of top first, second and third years, too, so our window's nice and big, but when you have vets as established as we have, we know when the going gets tough, we've got an ace in our back pocket, in a sense that we've got these players who've experienced it all."

And the going has gotten tough. The Griffins uncharacteristically were swept in weekend road action Sept. 6-7 – the first time in eight years they've lost two-straight games in the regular season – and have fallen back to 2-2-0 in the standings.

In a way, last weekend is a microcosm of the fifth-years' revenge tour, if you will, after the Griffins were upset in the opening round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons (2023 and 2024).

"I think all the players feel like they have unfinished business, and I think you'll see that," said Cordeiro. "Especially with the adversity we faced this past weekend, I'm very excited to see the response from this group on the weekend here."

There is certainly something special about how a fifth-year player sees the field. Their veteran presence is exactly what's needed to steady the ship.

 As one of four Griffins players in their fifth year of U SPORTS eligibility, Alyx Henderson brings a veteran presence crucial to a team's navigation of tough times (Husain Dhooma photo).

"It's the experience, for sure," said Henderson. "The four years behind you. You know what to expect, how hard it's going to be and how much extra effort you have to put in. But, also, you know it's your last (season), so you have so much extra effort left to give and you're not going to leave anything out there because this is it."

Henderson is a big piece to the puzzle for the Griffins, but the team has the ability to score in bunches, as evidenced by the past few seasons. Since she and Mwasalla, among others, arrived in 2021, the Griffins have scored an astounding 149 times in 58 regular season games. 

The special thing about it, is they really don't care who gets the credit.

"It's even better," said Henderson when she witnesses a teammate score. "Those goals are even prettier, working through the team. A team goal is better than any individual goal, I would say, because those are the things we work on in practice. 

"Especially when a younger player – a first or second-year player scores – it's such a cool moment for them and they'll never forget it. Seeing all my sisters around me do the same thing that I've done or Grace has done, it's just really cool to see everyone achieving the same goals and dreams."

And maybe a few seasons in the future, Henderson and Mwasalla can be the mentors that are talked about, as they pass the torch to the next great Griffins' goal scorer.