By Reegan MacAulay

While the 2023 women’s soccer Holland Hurricanes battled adversity and succeeded in the end, the men’s soccer team experienced the opposite effect -- in a way.

The squad had their time of adversity between 2021 and 2022, as it won 10 of 12 regular season games in ‘21 but finished runner-up at the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Championships. In ‘22, the team won just six games but managed to conquer its way to a gold medal game berth, barely defeating the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies 3-2 for the program’s 10th Atlantic championship.

Rookie wingback Yannick MacPhee scored the game-winning goal in penalty kicks. The 17-year-old was in his first year at Holland College studying business and was exiting a successful high-school career and a fun time at the 2022 Niagara Canada Summer Games.

The elite soccer defender chose to stay home for his academics and play for the Hurricanes. MacPhee felt pressure to do well but also felt lucky to have Jonathan Vos as head coach, who mentored him at the Canada Games.

“I was having a lot of fun and progressing a lot during my time with that team, so I came to the easy decision of continuing to play for Jonathan at the collegiate level,” MacPhee said.

He had no problem adjusting to ACAA competition and was the ultimate hero at the Atlantics. He and the ‘Canes went on to finish seventh at the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Soccer National Championship.

“Winning the championship during my rookie year was a big accomplishment and set the bar high for the 2023 season. Our returning players knew what it would take to win because we had been there before. My goals were to get stronger in the gym, develop my skills on the field, and make sure I would steer clear of injuries as I had some lingering issues from prior years,” MacPhee said.

For the 2023 season, the squad featured several key returnees, including Hurricanes Male Athlete of the Year, Mohammad Ali, and third-year midfielder, Julien Jones, but also a group of rookies, including midfielder, Fiston Ngabonziza, and defender, Noah Farrell. MacPhee was back and ready to step things up and be a role model for his teammates.

“I knew that I would have to become a leader for the team because I had a lot more experience than most guys,” MacPhee said.

Coach Jonathan Vos knew he had another winning roster, but so did other institutions.

“With the players we had, I knew we could win the title. But the level was raising a little bit, as STU and UKC have done a good job raising their programs as well as bringing in more players. So, we knew it would get a little more competitive to win the title,” Vos said.

The team went on to win eight of their 12 regular-season games (lost two, tied two), collecting 35 goals for, 12 goals against, 83 shots, a .422 shot percentage, and four shutouts. A decent improvement after going 6-3-3 in 2022.

Holland finished third in a tight race for first, falling short of STU and UKC in a six-point bubble between the three teams.

Sounds like good numbers, but behind the scenes, as Yannick MacPhee put it, the season was an incredibly bumpy ride.

“It felt like we kept getting hit with all sorts of different problems,” MacPhee said.

During the final few weeks before the ACAA Championships in Halifax, N.S., the team was plagued with injuries, players stepping away to focus on academics, and card troubles (accumulating enough yellow cards to be required to sit out).

“There were a lot of distractions going in. We couldn’t play some guys the last game of the year. We definitely weren’t peaking going into the playoffs, but we still felt like we could win,” Vos said.

The Hurricanes were tasked to play the second-ranked University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils in the semifinals, who went 9-1-2 and had a four-game winning streak entering the playoffs.

Tragically, in a defense-heavy match, UKC proved stronger, scoring two goals with successful set-pieces, and Holland found the back of the net too late, falling short 2-1.

Vos said the team let themselves down but pushed hard to rally.

“I thought we created more chances than them, but we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. I don’t think we had the right mentality going into (the game) and we probably could’ve focused on that a bit more. We were a bit too comfortable thinking we had the players to get the job done, but we didn’t quite put in the effort,” Vos said.

MacPhee said the loss was a tough pill to swallow, especially for his final year.

“I felt as though we did give it a good run, but it wasn’t good enough which is always disappointing. But these past two seasons as a Hurricane have been two of my most fun and competitive soccer seasons. I will always have positive memories when I look back at my time as a Hurricane and I sure will miss it a lot. Hanging out with the guys and all the fun times we had. It truly was a special team,” MacPhee said.

MacPhee thanked Vos, assistant coaches Brandon Eagle and Nathan Ford, and other staff for helping him develop his game, making sure he was healthy, and maintaining a fun team environment.

Vos looks back on the 2023 group as one filled with strong character and quiet leaders.

“Nolan Barry really stepped up in goal for us. He trained well and did well in the second half of the season. We were lucky to have Mohammed Ali back for another year, always an exceptional player. With the new addition of Vinny Boyd, another attacking player, (Ali and Boyd) combined really well up top together.

“David Bayingana was great in the midfield for us. We pushed him a little bit to play in that role. Yannick MacPhee at the back and Julien Jones working in the midfield, just great, strong character guys. You know you’re going to get them every time to show up and do their job.

As for 2024, Vos said the team will focus on fine-tuning things and will have a slightly new look.

“Hopefully we’ll get a little hunger from the semi-final loss. We want to get back to the stage of medals at nationals. We have a lot of turnover in terms of players because of our one and two-year programs, so we’re always kind of starting fresh and it can be a challenge at times.

“We want to bring that trophy back to Holland College and make some noise going into 2024,” Vos said.

The Hurricanes 2024 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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