Laval Comets

Laval Comets

Full name	Laval Comets
Nickname(s)	Les Comètes
Founded	2006
Dissolved	2016
Stadium	Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne, Laval, QC
Capacity	800
Chairman	Philippe Ciarlo
League	W-League
Home colours Away colours

The Laval Comets (French: Comètes de Laval) was a Canadian women's soccer team established in 2006 in the city of Laval, Quebec, Canada, a northern suburb of Montreal. The team was a member of the W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada.

The team played its home games at the Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne. The club's colours were light blue and dark blue.

The Comets were founded in 2005 by Pierre Marchand, a Laval businessman, following the demise of the Montreal Xtreme (2004) and Dynamites de Laval (1997-2001). Marchand was joined by 3 partners, the Montreal Impact, Centre Sportif Bois-de-Boulogne, and the Fédération de soccer du Québec, who assured the operation of the team for a minimum of three years.^[1] The club was set up as a non-profit organization owned by the 3 partners, to assure the long-term survival of the team.^[2]

In October 2005, contacts were established with the W-League, and a new franchise was granted to the group for the city of Laval. In November 2005, a competition was started for a name for the new team; hundreds of names were submitted. The club management selected the name Comètes de Laval.^[3] In January 2006, the club confirmed its first major team sponsor, Grolsch beer. The team's official colours, uniforms and the first players under contract were presented on March 8, 2006.^[4][5]

The Comets had a wide range of talent, some from university and high school teams, and others that have played for the Canadian National Team (7 Comets players in the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship).^[14] Seasons were brief since most players played at Canadian and American universities, therefore these were designed to accommodate their schedules, ending the first week of August.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  CAN Genevieve Richard 2 DF  USA Morgan Taylor 4 DF  CAN Julia Liguori 5 DF  CAN Kelsey Wilson 6 DF  CAN Natasha Tcheki-Jamgotchain 7 MF  CAN Kylie Davis 8 MF  CAN Constance de Chantal Dumont 9 MF  CAN Vanessa Grégoire 10 MF  CAN Catherine Charron-Delage 11 MF  CAN Kaitlyn Fournier 12 MF  CAN Rhian Wilkinson 13 FW  CAN Mélissa Busque 14 FW  CAN Josée Bélanger

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  CAN Kathryn Acton 16 MF  CAN Valérie Sanderson 17 FW  CAN Amandine Pierre-Louis 18 FW  CAN Amy Pietrangelo 19 DF  CAN Marissa Duguay 21 DF  CAN Marie-Ève Bernard O'Breham 22 MF  CAN Larissa Fedorowich 23 MF  USA McKenzie Bricker 24 FW  CAN Véronique Laverdière 28 GK  CAN Lysianne Proulx — MF  CAN Audrey Lagarde — DF  CAN Courtney Wilkinson-Maitland

^[15]

• Head Coach: Cindy Walsh^[16]
• Assistant Coach: Chantal Daigle^[17]

• Mohamed Hilen (2006-2008)
• Lyonel Joseph (2009-2012)

• Owen Braun (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)

• Jimmy Patsilivas (2014 & 2015)

The Comets had a major rivalry with Quebec City Amiral SC.^[18][19][20] Several former players on the Comets played for the Amiral SC.^[21][22] In matches between the two teams, it was common for supporters to travel between Montreal and Quebec City to watch the teams.

At the gate, the Comets had average crowds of 500 fans.^[23] After a disappointing season in 2009 ^[24] (where the average gate was between 800 and 900 people), the attendance to the matches fell to 266 persons a match in 2010.^[25]

The all-time single-game high was the 952 fans in attendance against Ottawa Fury Women on Friday, July 4, 2008.^[26]

• Officiel web site of Laval Comets/Comètes de Laval
• Laval Comets on USL Soccer