Very clearly, Kennedy Shymko and Milan Tavares put in the work to get themselves a chance to play university soccer, but a pair of current Winnipeg Wesmen at least earned an assist. 
 
Shymko, from St. Mary's Academy and Tavares from Oak Park High School, were announced as the newest commitments of the Wesmen women's soccer Class of 2024 recently, highlighted at halftime of a Wesmen game last month. 
 
Now they're officially in for the 'W', and both commits referenced current players as having a hand in helping with their signings.
 
Shymko previously played with midfielder Leiva Mann, and she said having that familiarity on the roster was a factor for her.
 
"Knowing Leiva was there, that was big for me," Shymko said.
 
Tavares, meanwhile, has previously had Wesmen defender Sydney Arnold as a coach and she said Arnold helped link her up with head coach Amy Anderson.
 
"She helped a lot with getting me in contact with Amy and starting that whole process," Tavares said.
 
The result is the Wesmen have now secured two more high-level prospects out of the province for the 2024 season. 
 
Through their youth opportunities and through their own legwork, both players said they looked into a variety of options for a university home before ultimately coming to the conclusion that home was in Winnipeg. 
 
Tavares calls herself a "playmaker" and Shymko is a striker who Anderson believes can play right away. 
 
"Kennedy is a very talented, fast young striker who had a lot of (university) options," Anderson said. "We are thrilled to have her join our program and I think she will make an impact right away."
 
"And Milan has an ability to play any number of positions. We are incredibly excited to have Milan join our program and give us another talented and impactful player.
 
Shymko entertained options outside the province before deciding home was where she wanted to be.
 
"I thought about going away, for sure, but I just realized that I would rather stay at home and stay with my family," she said. "I reached out to her. Once I decided to stay home, I knew it was either (another school) or U of W.
 
"I'm very excited for the opportunity and being able to play at the next level."
 
Both Shymko and Tavares have lengthy resumes of elite soccer in Manitoba, including with the Vancouver Whitecaps pre-prospect program. Shymko comes directly from the 1v1 Academy and has competed for FC Manitoba and in the provincial REX program.
 
Tavares has been a longstanding member of South End United but has also suited up with the Valour FC Elite and High-Performance teams. Last year, she helped lead her team to an MSA provincial championship and a sixth-place finish at the national championship. 
 
Tavares linked up with E&E Sports Management, an agency that develops and helps secure post-secondary opportunities for young players. Now, she said she's looking forward to taking the next step. 
 
"It's really exciting. I'm looking forward to getting closer to all the girls and just taking my soccer to the next level."
 
Shymko and Tavares join a 2024 class that includes Bonivital's Chiara Distasio, Layla Little and Rae Moist. 

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Wesmen camps around the corner

The Wesmen women's program is hosting a pair of ID camps this month.

Registration is available now for ID camps Nov. 10 and Nov. 12 for players in Grades 10 and up who are looking to pursue university playing opportunities. 

Interested players can register for the Nov. 10 camp here, and the Nov. 12 camp here. 

Wesmen ID camps have produced a number of post-secondary players who have been identified through the camps.