St. John's soccer star heading to Australia for next step on journey to turn pro

A rising star on the soccer pitch is one step closer to his goal.

Owen Sheppard, 22, has signed with the semi-pro outfit Corio SC in Geelong, Australia, a town of about 276,000 people southwest of Melbourne.

"Ultimately [I] kind of want to go in there and just do my best and hopefully, maybe in the future, there's a professional trial or contract that's waiting for me," Sheppard told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show on Monday.

"I want to use this as a stepping stone, and I want to progress even further."

Sheppard — born in St. John's but raised in Alberta — went first overall in the Canadian Premier League's 2023 U-Sports draft by Valour FC. He also played a stint with Halifax Wanderers FC and was the leading scorer of Atlantic University Sports with nine goals in his final university season ahead of winning a national championship.

Sheppard caught wind of the opportunity to play in Australia through a teammate who had made the same move. When an opportunity came up to move to another country, he says, he lept at it.

"I'm pretty excited for it, maybe a little nervous to go to the other side of the world. But I think it would be a little good experience," Sheppard said.

A hungry striker keen to create chances, Sheppard says he hopes his style of play can translate to positive results on the pitch.

He said he also looks forward to representing Newfoundland and Labrador internationally.

"I think it's pretty big, a player from Newfoundland being able to go overseas and express themselves and show themselves out there," he said. 

"Obviously it's a big world and we're a pretty small province, but it's good to be able to make it out of the province. And I know anybody can do it."

Sheppard leaves for Australia on Friday ahead of Corio's next match on Jan. 24.

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