By Jake Courtepatte

A pair of Pickering College students are taking their talents to the next level.

Seniors Lexi Giorgi and Adam Murphy each announced their intent to play at the varsity level of USports at a special signing at the Newmarket campus on Thursday.

“It's exciting,” said Giorgi, who will be tending goal for the Queens Golden Gaels varsity hockey squad come September.

A netminder of eight years, most recently with the Toronto Jr. Aeros, Giorgi said it was a no-brainer to join the Queens program.

“It's so academically respected,” said Giorgi, who added that aspect combined with a strong hockey program made it an easy first choice. “As soon as I toured the campus, I really felt at home. Plus, it's a great coach, really friendly to me right from the start. I also know a few girls on the team, I skated with them with the Toronto Aeros, so to know people right away is a pretty big plus.”

The thought of heading south to play in the NCAA certainly crossed the mind of the talented goaltender, though Queens eventually won out by means of staying close to home.

Giorgi is no stranger to taking on a challenge on the ice: for both her freshman and sophomore years at Pickering College, she was the only girl on the senior varsity team at the school.

“We don't have a lot of kids at this school, but we were on the ice four times a week,” said Giorgi. “I liked it. I was kind of nervous at first in Grade Nine; I didn't really know anyone. There were a lot of grade twelve boys on the team, so I came in nervous, but they were super nice to me and it turned out well.”

With five years of eligibility ahead of her, Giorgi prefers to focus on her upcoming collegiate career before putting the spotlight on her post USports play.

For Adam Murphy, who will be taking his talents to the Dalhousie Tigers varsity soccer program come this fall, his future sights are set on the budding Canadian Premier League.

“It's this new league, and it has good potential, so that could be a possibility.”

On the pitch from the age of five, Murphy has represented an elite Bradford program for the past five years, while becoming a mainstay on the highly successful Pickering varsity program.

Pickering has won back-to-back championships over the last two seasons.

“I love playing for the school,” said Murphy. “A lot of the kids on the team are borders, from all different countries. So, I've really gotten to know them a lot more than if we weren't playing together.”

Murphy is hoping to stand out among the Halifax community enough to transition to a possible role with Halifax's CPL team post-college, the Halifax Wanderers.

“I really love Halifax, I liked the campus and I liked the city when I went out there. I think it will be tough, because it is far, but I'm looking forward to it and we'll see how it goes.”