• Pandas Soccer defender/midfielder (1995-2000)
• 3-time Canada West Champion (1996, 1997, 1999)
• 1997 CIAU Champion
• 1998 CIAU Player of the Year
• 2-time Canada West Player of the Year (1997, 1998)
• 1995 Canada West Rookie of the Year
• 2-time CIAU Top 8 Academic All-Canadian (1996, 1997)
• 2-time CIAU First Team All-Canadian (1997, 1998)
• 3-time Canada West All-Star (1997, 1998, 1999)
• 2-time Pandas Soccer Team MVP (1998, 1999)
• 5-time CIAU Academic All-Canadian (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
• Competed at 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup with Team Canada

All Sports Wall of Fame inductees were tremendous athletes, students, leaders, and role models. Very few, if any, displayed the sheer brilliance that Sarah Joly, ‘99 BScPT, ‘05 MD, did in both athletics and academics during her time as a University of Alberta student-athlete.  

A star with the championship-winning Pandas Soccer teams of the late 90’s, Joly was known for her talent, passion and intelligence, both on the pitch and in the classroom. She was the catalyst for a team that captured three Canada West banners and one national title between 1995-1999.

Before joining the Pandas in 1995, Sarah was already an accomplished soccer athlete who was a member of every Alberta Provincial team in her age group (U-14, U-16, and U-18).

On the pitch, Joly was the player all coaches dream of. She was athletic, strong, fit, and quick. She could do it all. She could score goals at a high clip, or be counted on to stop the opposition from scoring at the other end.

“What is truly remarkable about Sarah is that she was very humble. It was never about the individual awards and accomplishments for her, it was always about the team first,” said former Pandas head coach Tracy David, who herself was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Whatever it took to get the team to the next level, Sarah was going to do it. She was a fierce competitor and had the courage to take risks. She was a leader that was genuine, honest, caring and well liked.”

Starting her varsity career as the Pandas centre-back, Joly was named the 1995 Canada West Rookie of the Year. Not normally a position played by first-year players, Joly was a natural at reading the field, was a strong tackler, and an excellent distributor of the ball from deep positions, which allowed her to thrive in the demanding position as a rookie.

The first of three conference titles for Joly came in 1996, her sophomore year, as the Pandas upset the top-seeded Dinos in the Canada West Final. Their Cinderella run came to a heart-breaking end, with Alberta falling to Ottawa in the CIAU National Final. 

Led by Joly, the 1997 CW Player of the Year, redemption came the following season. The Pandas captured their second-straight conference title with another win over Calgary, before exacting some revenge against Ottawa, beating the Gee-Gee’s in double overtime to capture the program’s second national title.

Over the course of her five seasons primarily as a midfielder, Joly was twice named the CW Player of the Year (‘97, ‘98), was named the national player of the year in 1998, and led the conference in goals in 1997.

Her 26 career goals are the third-most in program history, while her 11 game-winning goals are the most ever for a Panda.

The only Panda to ever win the Kathlene Yetman Trophy as the top female academic All-Canadian three times, Joly is one of the few SWOF inductees whose academic accomplishments may be more impressive than their athletic accolades.

Joly was a CIAU Academic All-Canadian in each of her five seasons with the Pandas, earned the Yetman Trophy in 1997, 1998, and 1999, and was named a CIAU Top 8 Academic All-Canadian in both ‘96 and ‘97.

“I am not sure I will be able to capture on paper just how valuable Sarah was to the Pandas Soccer program,” continued David. “When I look at the number of awards that Sarah received over those five years, I am astounded at just how much Sarah achieved. She is among the very best (if not the best) all-round student-athletes I have ever coached.”

If her UofA accomplishments weren’t enough, Joly also competed on the Canadian National Women’s team from 1995-2000, highlighted by winning the 1998 CONCACAF Championship, and an appearance in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was also the first ever captain of the U-20 national team.

She earned her Science degree in physical therapy in 1999, before earning her MD from the UofA in 2005. She completed her residency at Dalhousie University, before returning to Edmonton in 2011.

Joly is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and works at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, South Edmonton Oral Surgery as well as the Weiss Clinic.

She was the Director of Undergraduate Medical Education at the UofA from 2014-18, and the medical student site coordinator for the Royal Alex from 2014-22. She was named the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Canadian Examiner in 2021.

Sarah Joly is the fifth former Pandas Soccer athlete to be inducted onto the Sports Wall of Fame.