By Josh Shwaykowski
A slow start to the 2024-2025 season was too much to overcome for the Holland Hurricanes men’s soccer team, as they failed to make the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) playoffs for the first time since 2006.
While there was a core of returning athletes, the Hurricanes looked to add some key players in the right roles to continue finding success in the ACAA.
But the team let crucial points slip away to start the year, losing their first game of the season to the Crandall University Chargers 1-0.
Jonathan Vos, head coach of the team, said the team struggled early.
“We dropped some points in that opening weekend, and we never really recovered from that.”
The ‘Canes were able to bounce back initially, as they beat the Dalhousie Rams to push their record to 1-1-0. However, the team couldn't gain momentum from the win, as they would lose their next three games before getting another point with a tie against the Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics.
“You have to come to play every single game no matter who the opponent is,” said Vos. “We showed flashes of how we could play, but our consistency was lacking, which really hurt us.”
Now, with a record of 1-4-1, they needed to make up ground fast. A win against the Rams got them another three points to make a late-season push, but they tied the Chargers right after to stall any momentum gained.
“We showed a lot of improvement and had a great push to try and make the playoffs,” said Vos. “We were finding our rhythm at times, but we just couldn’t string it together for the full 90 minutes.”
The Hurricanes followed up the four-point weekend by losing its next two games, the first to the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies, and the next to the University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves.
Injuries and some stretches of poor play throughout the year caused the season to come down to their final game. The `Canes needed a win against the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils to advance to the playoffs.
The Hurricanes started the game flat, and UKC jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. With their season slipping away, the `Canes started to press, and two goals in the second half tied the game and brought some momentum to the team. But their late-game effort wasn’t enough. They couldn’t find the goal needed and the game ended in a tie, eliminating Holland from ACAA playoff contention.
”In the last 45 minutes of play versus Kings College, we were pushing for that final goal, and it just wouldn’t come. But I was very proud of our guys when they stepped off that field,” said Vos.
While the team had a challenging season, Vos is optimistic about the team's future.
“The key thing for us was our lack of consistency. At times, we were keeping up with the top teams in the league, but we just couldn't maintain that level of play for the full game,” said Vos.
Vos said he’s happy with how the team improved throughout the season.
“Although we didn’t make it, I’m certainly proud of our guys. Many of our games down the stretch were do-or-die, and they started to show the level of competition needed.”
“Overall, it was a challenging year, but we are looking to steer things right, get ready for next year, and return to the ACAA playoffs.”
Individually, Chad Munro was named to the ACAA’s first all-conference team for his strong season, while Colby Munro was named to the ACAA’s second all-conference team.
The Hurricanes 2025 ACAA regular season schedule will be released soon, as will details on Booster Club memberships for fans wanting to secure season tickets for the season ahead.
Connect with the men’s soccer ‘Canes at www.twitter.com/canesmsoccer andwww.instagram.com/canesmsoccer.
For more information on the Holland Hurricanes, please visit www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_Hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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