Bio

Danielle Vella was a two-time All-Canadian at midfield and an all-star member of the first Gee-Gees varsity team in 1994. Vella was also a Gee-Gees club team member from 1991-1993, and scored a goal in the team’s first official varsity match. Her All-Canadian seasons came in 1995 and 1996 as she helped bring immediate national success to the newly varsity program. In fact, the hometown standout and alumna of J. S. Woodsworth Secondary School was named a conference all-star in the first three seasons the Gee-Gees competed in OUA (then known as the OWIAA).

Vella was a member of OUA conference championship-winning teams in 1996 and 1997 and scored the national championship-winning goal in 1996. She was named the 1996 National Championship tournament MVP. Vella recorded 20 regular season goals over her four-year OUA career, which still ranks 14^th in program history. In Vella’s final season, which was shortened by an early-season knee injury, the Gee-Gees secured the 1997 national silver medal.

With her club, Nepean United, Vella won provincial and national championships in both 1997 and 1998. She went on to represent Canada on the senior national team at the 2000 Algarve Cup, starting at forward in the tournament’s opening match. Vella continued her soccer career with the Ottawa Fury and the Ottawa Royals, including scoring the Ontario Cup-winning goal in 2006. She earned her Master of Computer Science from the Faculty of Engineering in 2000.