This Is the Los Angeles Sol: Sharolta Nonen

Part 20 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2009 Los Angeles Sol.


Meet Los Angeles Sol defender Sharolta Nonen. Sharolta is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill stalwart on the back.

A good friend of goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, Nonen's success has seen her legacy documented well in her home province of British Columbia.

In Vancouver, a town where people prosper by sea, land and air, Nonen is true to her city's motto.

Her journey has seen her play a key role with three distinguished clubs: the Big XII powerhouse Nebraska Cornhuskers, the WUSA's Atlanta Beat (who will be returning for the 2010 WPS season), and the Canadian women's national team.

And Nonen's career has reached what potentially could be her zenith as a member of Abner Rogers's Sol.

The host city of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver is home to the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions, the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, whose men's side are eyeing a move to Major League Soccer.

A sister city of Los Angeles, Vancouver shares an ethnically diverse makeup with its Californian twin. More than 52 percent of residents in this cosmopolitan center of the Canadian west speak a language other than English.

While it thrives on its reputation as one of the most livable cities in the world, Vancouver is a city that would deter those looking for a new place to start a family.

A 2007 Forbes magazine ranking placed Vancouver as sixth in terms of overpriced real estate, and a 2006 survey by CanWest found that Vancouver was the second-most expensive place to live after Toronto, and the 89th most-expensive in the world.

In spite of the high costs, the payoff from playing in a region obsessed with the round ball was huge for Nonen.

She was born on December 30, 1977 in Vancouver. While she did play prep football at Kitsilano Secondary School, it was her career as a youth club player that got the wheels in motion.

In 1992, Nonen helped lead the Vancouver Hurricanes to the Under-17 British Columbia Provincial B Cup championship. Three years later, Nonen paced the British Columbia Under-19 team to the semifinals of the Canadian National Championships.

And in 1999, Nonen was instrumental in helping Dunbar West make the semifinals of the British Columbia Provincual A Cup.

Nonen signed with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1996, playing alongside current Sol goalkeeper and Rutgers Scarlet Knight assistant coach Karina LeBlanc.

In her freshman year, Nonen earned 11 points on four goals and three assists. For her efforts, she earned Third-Team Freshman All-America and First-Team Freshman All-Central Region honors from Soccer Buzz, and added NSCAA Third-Team All-Central Region honors.

In addition Nonen also earned the Huskers' Top All-Around Player Award. Not a bad start. But it would only get better.

In her sophomore year, Nonen earned NSCAA Third-Team All-America honors as a defender, garnering First-Team All-Central Region, All-Big 12, and All-Big 12 Tournament honors.

For her efforts, Nonen shared Nebraska's Top All-Around Player Award with Kari Uppinghouse.

Nonen's junior season was a gem. The seasoned Cornhusker defender earned NSCAA Second-Team All-America honors after capturing First-Team All-Big 12 and All-Central Region and Big 12 All-Tournament honors for the second straight year.

Her honors that season were a testament to her role in the clutch.

Nonen posted the game-winning assist in Nebraska's 4-0 win over Missouri in the Big 12 Tournament title game and scored the second of Nebraska's three goals in a 3-2 triple overtime win over Texas A&M in the semifinals.

Nonen shared Nebraska's Top All-Around Player Award with fellow All-America defender Isabelle Morneau while being named Nebraska's Most Consistent Player.

As one of only seven players to start all 22 games of the 1998 season, Nonen led the Huskers with 10 assists, including an NU single-season record four game winners, to finish tied for fifth on the squad with 14 points.

Nonen capped off her career at Lincoln with a bang, becoming Nebraska soccer's first three-time All-American and second NSCAA First-Team All-American in 1999.

She made history as the first defender to capture Big 12 Player of the Year honors while grabbing First-Team All-Big 12 accolades for the third consecutive season.

Nonen was also named the Big 12 Tournament Defensive MVP after leading Nebraska to its third Big 12 Tournament title. Along the way, she became the first Husker to earn a third straight All-Tournament award.

She would also leave Lincoln with a school-record 93 games played, 35 career assists (good for second on the all-time list), and the honor being named one of the 25 Women of Distinction by the Nebraska Athletic Department in 2000.

As a member of the Canadian National Team, Nonen competed in the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. In 2003, she would help Big Red to a fourth-place finish.

From 2001-03, Nonen was a member of the WUSA's Atlanta Bea. Atlanta would finish runner-up in the 2001 and 2003 Founders' Cup.

About a half-decade would pass before Nonen got the call from the Sol's Abner Rogers to step on to the pitch once more.

Replacing Christie Shaner, who in turn replaced Martina Franko who was out on maternity leave, Nonen made her debut against FC Gold Pride on July 23 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

For Nonen, a player who earned her stripes with Nebraska, Atlanta, and Canada, the opportunity to play with one of the most consistent teams in Women's Professional Soccer was the icing on the cake.