Swansea City Ladies Canada Altrogge Bubnick Cubbon

Landing in Wales last month, a trio of Canadians swapped Saskatchewan for SA1 to represent Swansea City Ladies in the Welsh Premier Women's League.

Initially attracted by the 'dream' of playing football in Europe, full-back Jacqueline Altrogge, midfielder Taylor Bubnick and striker Lauren Cubbon are starting to feel more at home as the season goes on.

"I am thoroughly enjoying my time here," said Bubnick, who like her fellow compatriots, is a product of Saskatchewan's High-Performance Development Centre. "The team's competitive drive and will to win is very admirable and the competition level is very good.

"Overall it has been an amazing and unforgettable experience so far. The people here are very nice and welcoming and there are a lot of fun things to do locally." 

They were comments echoed by Altrogge, who said: "It's an honour to play for Swansea City Ladies.

"It has been an amazing experience filled with learning opportunities for my development as a player and person."

Crossing the pond wasn't a totally smooth transition, but Altrogge and Bubnick's integration was eased by the fact both spent time training with the ladies squad last year.

"The European culture is definitely different than the Canadian one," added Altrogge. "It has taken some getting used to, but this time I feel more familiar with this beautiful city and the people here."

Despite having to adjust to life this side of the Atlantic, as well as having to balance training and matches with their studies, all three have slotted into the side comfortably and have made a significant impact in the short time they've spent with the squad.

Studying at Swansea University as part of the academic exchange from the University of New Brunswick, Cubbon came off the bench in the 77th minute to make her debut against Port Talbot Town in the FAW Women's Cup quarter-final and rounded off the scoring in the six-goal thriller.

The striker went on to repeat that performance with an equaliser in the vital 2-1 league victory against Aberystwyth as the ladies continue their push for a third WPWL title.

Altrogge netted her first against Cyncoed recently while Bubnick scored on her debut during a 5-0 league win over Port Talbot last week.

And the trio are now hoping to now continue their fine form.

"I want to continue to contribute to the team in any way that I can and see them achieve great things," said Cubbon.

Bubnick, too, is keen to play her part in the run-in, adding: "I hope that for the rest of the season, we can continue to push ourselves to our technical edge in training and collectively dominate as a team on the pitch.