OSHAWA, Ont. – Ontario Tech Ridgebacks women's soccer alumna Nicole Zajac is continuing her professional career in Poland.
 
She recently signed with KKS Czarni Sosnowiec, the defending champions of the Ekstraliga, Poland's top professional women's soccer league. Previously she played for Medyk Konin, also members of the Ekstraliga.
 
"When my contract finished, I was looking to find a better club," said Zajac. "Due to the fact that I was struggling with an injury over the past six months and not playing regularly, the Polish Ekstraliga was the best option for me since they already know how I play. It was also a plus I was able to secure a contract with a good team coming back from injury."
 
She played five seasons of OUA soccer at Ontario Tech during her university career. Starting in 2013-14, she quickly became a regular on the pitch with 14 appearances. She went on to finish with 15 goals in 62 regular season appearances. She also represented Poland at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea.
 
As with most athletes around the world, the pandemic sidelined Zajac. For a large portion of the pandemic, Poland was in a complete lockdown. To stay fit, her and her teammates had exercises sent to them to do every day at home. She also drove outside of the city to a forest to try to stay active, but said it was difficult for all athletes to come back to training after the lockdown.
 
During her time at Ontario Tech she never expected these professional opportunities would come her way, but recommends current or future U SPORTS athletes to work hard during their university career and try to build connections to get their foot in the door. She also hopes eventually there will be a professional female option in Canada in the future.
 
"The most difficult thing is to get your foot in the door and find your first professional team, after that it's easier to find and sign contracts with other professional teams," she said. "It's a shame that Canada doesn't have a professional league for women's soccer and that most careers end at the university level. I hope that will change in the future."
 
The Ekstraliga will kick off its 2021-22 season in August, with Czarni Sosnowiec also playing their opening game of the UEFA Women's Champions League on August 18 against Hungary's champion, Ferencváros.