Over the past several seasons, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer program has developed a strong relationship with League 1 Ontario club Alliance United, resulting in the incredible achievement of two teams reaching two championship finals this year.

With 12 current Varsity Blues women's soccer athletes, seven Varsity Blues alumnae, and four Varsity Blues staff representing Alliance United women's teams this summer, the club has seen both their first team and reserve team reach their respective League 1 Ontario finals. Additionally, the club will also head to Langley, B.C. in the coming weeks to compete at the League 1 Canada Championship for a second consecutive season.

"It is fantastic that we can partner with Alliance United to provide our student-athletes with a place to play over the summer months," explained U of T and Alliance United women's soccer head coach Angelo Cavalluzzo. "Competing in League 1 Ontario, and the League 1 Canada Championship over these past two seasons, have allowed many of our student-athletes who have stayed in Toronto for the summer to compete at an extremely high level against other U SPORTS and NCAA players."

This unique affiliation has provided Varsity Blues student-athletes with the ability to extend their high-performance training and playing opportunities beyond the typical academic school-year. In addition to the usual OUA competition season and in-depth fitness and performance training received at the Strength and Conditioning Centre (SCC) on campus, they now can achieve a full 12-month offering.

"This level of 12-month programming is something unique that we get to offer and we are very thankful to everyone helping to make it happen," added Cavalluzzo. "In our second season we have had many of our out-of-province student-athletes decide to stay in Toronto to play, and our success over these two seasons is a testament to the 12 months of hard work they put in to prepare themselves."

The Alliance United women's teams include current Varsity Blues Hannah Anderson, Valentina Greco, Cassie Chan, Hannah Chown, Santana Ferreira, Anne Yeomans, Paige Young, Nicole Mulligan, Antonia Figueroa, Carissa Callaway, Julia Cochran, and Samantha Gravina.

For the club's women's premier team, they will challenge NDC Ontario (National Development Centre) on Saturday evening in the League 1 Ontario championship final. Kick-off for the ticketed event at the Ontario Soccer Centre is scheduled for 7 p.m.

On Thursday evening the Alliance United women's reserve team fell in their championship final versus the North Toronto Nitros.

The League 1 Canada Championship will follow, taking place from August 10 to 14 in Langley, B.C. All the action for the national event will be broadcast live on OneSoccer/FuboTV, which also serves as the broadcasting home for the Canadian national team, Canadian Premier League (CPL), and English Premier League (EPL) in Canada.

The affiliation also carries over to the men's side where Varsity Blues men's soccer head coach Ilya Orlov also heads the Alliance United men's teams. With a roster that includes four players from last season's Varsity Blues men's soccer team, and many alumni, the Alliance United men enter the final two weeks of their regular season tied for fifth in the province with a 9-3-5 (W-L-T) record.