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Balata was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[2][3] She initially took up basketball, influenced by her two older brothers, before her father introduced her to soccer at a park near their apartment.[4] She quickly fell in love with the sport and went on to represent regional and provincial teams, eventually earning a place in the Canadian youth national team setup.[4]
Balata played her youth club soccer with Lakeshore SC and Notre-Dame-De-Grâce SA in the Montreal area.[2] With the Quebec provincial team, which she captained from the age of 14, she was named Canada's Top Player, made all-star teams, and won a gold medal.[5] Her club teams also won back-to-back gold medals at the Canadian National Championships in 2016 and 2017, and a silver medal in 2018.[5] She attended Collège de Montréal and Notre Dame de Montréal, where she was named 2016 Student Athlete of the Year and MVP.[5]
Balata joined Southern Methodist University in 2019 to play for the SMU Mustangs in NCAA Division I. In her freshman season, she played in 18 and started 17 matches, logging 1,454 minutes, scoring two goals and tallying two assists, and was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team.[8][9] She also earned a spot on the AAC All-Academic Team in 2019–20.[2]
Balata was named to the All-AAC Second Team in 2021.[11][8] Her collegiate career at SMU was interrupted by injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, which extended her eligibility. In her graduate season of 2023 she served as team captain and was named to the AAC Championship All-Tournament Team after scoring two goals in the semifinal victory over Florida Atlantic, including the game-winning goal in the 8th minute via penalty kick.[2][12] Across her five-year collegiate career, Balata finished with 16 goals and 5 assists in 56 matches.[11]
Balata during Brooklyn FC vs Dallas Trinity FC on Apr 12, 2026
In 2025, Balata signed with Dallas Trinity FC, returning to the Dallas–Fort Worth area where she had played her college soccer[18] She made an immediate impact, scoring the equalizing goal in the 48th minute of Dallas Trinity's season-opening 2–1 comeback win over Spokane Zephyr FC on August 23, 2025.[19] In February 2026, Balata scored her second goal and second assist of the season in a 4–0 win at Fort Lauderdale United FC, earning her a nomination for Goal of the Month.[20] She was subsequently named to the USL Super League Team of the Month for February 2026.[20]
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