Stephanie Labbé is a Canadian football player who plays for the Canadian women’s soccer team as well as for Damallsvenskan club Rosengård as a goalkeeper. One of the best in the game, she has been playing professionally at the club level since 2009 and has been playing for her country’s senior side since 2008.
Stephanie Labbé Biography
The Canadian shot-stopper was born Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé on October 10, 1986, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was also in her home country that she was brought up together with an older brother, Kevin. Her parents are Beverly Labbé and Gerard Labbé.
While growing up, her brother played hockey and so her parents would take her to go and watch him play. This was the first time that she fell in love with athletics, deciding that she wanted to play hockey.
At the time, there were no hockey teams for girls close to her and her parents had to look for a team for boys that would accept her. Stephanie proved herself as a little girl playing in a hockey team with boys but by the time she was 11, she decided to leave the team and hockey altogether and join a soccer team with her girlfriends. She also played basketball.
Following her high school in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Lebbe went to the University of Connecticut where she played collegiate football and got named the 2008 Big East Goalkeeper of the Year thanks to her exceptional display that saw her with six clean sheets.
Career
Stephanie Labbé started playing football when she was only 12. However, she started her professional career in 2009 when she signed for Piteå IF. She played for the team until 2011 and then in 2012, she joined KIF Orebro for the next two years, taking the post 61 times in the Swedish top division. In 2016, Stephanie joined the Washington Spirit. However, she would not play for a long time with the team before she decided to take a leave due to her struggles with anxiety and depression.
She wanted to walk away from football in as a whole, but she decided instead to look for a men’s team and play there. Fortunately, the Calgary Foothills of the Premier Development League accepted her. She was able to get the trust and confidence of the team but the Premier Development League did not allow her to make the roster since it is a gender-based league. Lebbe filed a suit against the PDL but there was nothing she could do.
She decided to sign to the Calgary Foothills WFC in United Women’s Soccer in 2018. In the same year, she signed for Linköpings FC in Sweden and was there until her move to the North Carolina Courage in 2019. In 2021, she moved to Rosengård.
Internationally, she started playing for the Canada women’s team at the under-20 level in 2003. She played until 2006, making 18 appearances. In 2008, she got the call to play for the senior team with which she won the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She has been named in the roster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she made some impressive saves to help Canada win Gold Medal after defeating Sweden in the finals following a penalty shootout.
Family and Partner
One of the main things that have always worked for Stephanie Labbé is that she has a very supportive family which has always been there for her. According to her mother, Beverly Lebbe, since Steph started playing football, the family has always set its vacation to places where she is playing her tournaments so that they could support her.
Stephanie is not yet married but she is in a relationship with her girlfriend, Georgia Simmerling. Georgia is a track cyclist who has become famous as a 3-time Olympian. Both women have had their struggles throughout their careers- while Steph had the problem of anxiety and depression, Georgia suffered a career-threatening injury, but they both bounced back.
One more member of her family is her dog, Rio, which she takes as her child.
See Also: Christine Sinclair Biography, Husband, Salary, And Net Worth
Salary and Net Worth
Stephanie Labbé has played for many years and has risen through the ranks to being named part of Canada’s world cup squad. That said, her salary and net worth are still not known. What is known, however, is that she is doing well for herself financially.
Stephanie Labbé Height and Weight
As a goalie, Lebbe has a good height and body build. She has a height of 5 feet 10 inches and a body weight of 139 lbs.
North Carolina CourageNWSL Champions: 2019
NWSL Shield: 2019
Summer Olympics gold medal: 2021; bronze medal: 2016
IFFHS Women’s CONCACAF Team of the Year: 2021
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