A striker whose prolific goal-scoring helped bring the UCFV Cascades a medal at the national championships is one of the 2025 inductees into the Cascades Hall of fame.

Bianca Wilkinson joined the UCFV women’s soccer team in 1993, when the coaches were recruiting to build a team that could contend for championships.

At that time, Bianca had already been recognized for her abilities on the field. So, when she called coach Tom Fast out of the blue and told him she was interested in joining the UCFV team, Tom says he felt as though he’d struck gold.

“She was a borderline national team prospect,” recalls Tom. “She was a player that BC Soccer was aware of, she was a striker, and she wanted to play for us.”

It was through a scholarship provided by BC Soccer that Bianca joined UCFV in 1993. She helped bring the Cascades to a bronze medal win that year at the BCCAA collegiate championships.

“It was an incredible feeling to help secure the first bronze,” says Bianca. “It’s a memory I’ll never forget.”

During this time, she was scoring at a rate of a goal per game; in short order, she became recognized as a BCCAA first-team all-star, and an All-Canadian — a title she’d receive more than once.

Bianca sat out the 1994 season, due to her enrolment with the Doncaster Belles in England, a semi-pro enlistment. She returned in 1995 to help bring the team to the national championships, where they won a bronze and received the BCCAA All-Canadian distinction.

For Bianca, soccer has always been a big part of who she is.

“I found soccer as a kid,” she says. “I fell in love with the game early on.”

She credits her teammates and her coaches for helping her climb to the heights she did during her time at UCFV, and for her continued connection to the game.

“I stayed committed to soccer,” she says. “I played for Surrey United, which had a very strong women’s team. I kept competing because I love the challenge.”

No stranger to accolades, Bianca’s team for Surrey United was inducted into the BC Hall of Fame in 2020.

She still plays today, 30 years after her heyday with UCFV. Following her career with the Cascades, Bianca played for the Canadian National Women’s Team in 1996 and for two years in England for Brighton Hove and the Southampton Saints. She also played for the Vancouver Angels (the precursor to the Whitecaps) alongside Christine Sinclair.

She finds being recognized as the 2025 UFV Cascades Hall of Fame recipient in the athlete category a humbling experience.

“Soccer has shaped who I am, and I’m thankful for the lifelong friendships and lessons I’ve learned,” says Bianca. “And for my family– my mum Maree, my dad Eric, and my sister Shannon.”