People, places, even the millennium.

But for the many differences between the 1997 and 2001 seasons for the University of Alberta women's soccer team, all that matters is they ended exactly alike:

With the Pandas hoisting the Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy.

"The teams were composed of mostly different players with different skill sets and temperaments, but the tenacity, work ethic, Panda pride, and desire to win were the same," says Jennifer Cunliffe.

A defender, Cunliffe was one of the very few who experienced Alberta winning the 1997 CIAU Women's Soccer Championship – the program's second ever and first since 1989 – and was still there in 2001 when the Pandas became national champs again.

It wasn't only that the roster had gone through a near complete turnover, but the coaching staff was entirely different. The legendary Tracy David and her assistants from 1997 had all moved on, with a staff led by rookie head coach Kelly Vandergrift taking over for the 2001 campaign.

"It is hard to compare the two, but both coaches were competitors and didn't sugar coat things when you weren't playing well," Cunliffe says.

Coming off a year when they won the conference title and advanced to the final match at Nationals where they came up just short to Ottawa, Alberta entered the 1997 Canada West women's soccer season with high expectations.  The Pandas went through their schedule without a loss, going 7-0-3 to finish with 24 points, one behind Calgary, which had an 8-1-1 record.

At the Canada West championship game in Calgary, the Pandas got a goal from Heather Murray to defeat the Dinos 1-0 and clinch a second consecutive berth at nationals.

Alberta kept rolling at the 1997 CIAU Women's Soccer Championship in Quebec, where decisive victories over McGill (6-0) and McMaster (4-1) powered the Pandas into the final for a gold medal rematch against Ottawa.

It was a cold, wet day when the Pandas took to the Laval pitch opposite the Gee-Gees. For 90 minutes, neither team could score. Finally in overtime, it was Murray that again broke a 0-0 deadlock, scoring the match's lone goal to lift Alberta to the Canadian title.

The years that followed saw ups and downs for the Pandas, who missed nationals in 1998, returned and lost the CIAU final to Dalhousie in 1999, then missed again in 2000. By 2001, Murray and the other veterans from Alberta's 1997 championship squad had long since moved on, leaving it to Cunliffe to teach the winning ways of her former comrades to her current ones.

"On the 1997 team, I had very limited playing time and my role was more as an observer," she says. "I learned a lot from the older players, in terms of skill, leadership, and getting the most out of your teammates. I also marveled at how some players could maintain a high GPA while also playing soccer at a high level.

"In 2001 I was an older, more mature and composed student-athlete. I tried to lead the team and support the younger players, much like I had observed other players do in 1997," continued Cunliffe, who graduated from Alberta with a bachelor in science and went on to earn a Master's in Chemistry at the University of Michigan. "I also tried to emphasize the importance of the educational aspect of being a student-athlete."

With the reins of Alberta women's soccer passed from David to Vandergrift, the '01 Pandas were a juggernaut, going 8-0-6 in the regular season to finish first in the Canada West standings and earn the right to host the Canada West championship in Edmonton at Foote Field – which hadn't even existed in 1997. They took full advantage of home, defeating UBC 3-1 in a semifinal, then Trinity Western 2-1 for the conference title.

The Pandas headed to the nation's capital for nationals, where Carleton University staged the 2001 CIS Women's Soccer Championship. They beat Queen's 3-1, then the hosts 4-1, setting the stage for a championship battle with McGill.

It was, in stark contrast to the previous time they captured the Bean Memorial Trophy, a sunny and beautiful day as the Pandas got past the Martlets 2-1, putting their school at the top of Canadian women's university soccer for a third and latest time.

The University of Manitoba is hosting the 2017 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship, this Thursday (Nov. 9) through Sunday (Nov. 12). Day One of the tournament just happens to be the 20^th anniversary of Alberta's championship triumph in 1997. 

Reflecting upon the team's place in history, Cunliffe notes that many of those Pandas players continue to play soccer, and many are involved in coaching, whether at the university level or with their own children.

"I think it's important for young children, especially girls, to have female role models who continue to make sports a priority in their lives for both physical and mental wellness," she adds. 

"So I would say our legacy is with the next generation, being role models to our children and the children that we coach."