One of Canada's greatest ever female soccer players has been quietly calling Richmond her home for the past decade.
Steveston resident Andrea Neil was one of five athletes inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame last week, becoming the firstever female soccer player to be honoured.
She made her debut with the national team in 1991 at the age of 19 and remained a fixture with the program for the next 18 years.
Along the way, Neil scored 24 goals, which ranks her fifth all-time, and participated in four World Cups, including in 2003 when Canada managed its best-ever finish, placing fourth.
She also enjoyed a distinguished university career, leading the UBC Thunderbirds to four Canada West titles and a CIS championship.
She retired as a player in 2007. "I absolutely love it here," said Neal, who last year was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. "Richmond is a tremendous sports community and now that I have kind of settled down, there is a chance I could one day get involved with one of the local clubs."
Neil worked with the national team as an assistant under former head coach Carolina Morace. She even had a brief visit with some of her former teammates when the Canadian team was training in Richmond this past spring in preparation for its memorable bronze medal run at the Summer Olympic Games in London. She is still determining what her next role in soccer will be and admits it may even be abroad.
"The pilot light is definitely still burning and I continue to have a huge passion for the game," she said. "I'm just waiting for the right opportunity that is going to make me excited to be involved again."
Today, it's difficult for kids to participate in more than one sport, if they want to exceed at a high level. Neal didn't need academy training or even rep soccer until her late teen years to become one of Canada's greatest players.
Amazingly, badminton was her sport growing up in Vancouver and she was an accomplished player at the junior national level.
"I just played soccer for the fun it," she recalled. "It wasn't until I was 17 that I actually played competitively when one of the Kerrisdale teams asked if I was interested."
Neil immediately thrived in the rep environment and soon after she was playing for B.C. and being identified as a national team prospect. She eventually hit a crossroad with her badminton and soccer careers, realizing she would have to walk away from one sport.
"I really couldn't make a decision so I left for a year to go work on a tall ship," said Neil.
Her mind was made up after she nearly lost her leg to gangrene due to implications from a motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic.
"I was lucky in that I got experience an individual and team sport at a high level," she added. "Soccer brought me some tremendous opportunities."
