The Holland Hurricanes men’s soccer team is in Langley, British Columbia this week for the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship; they kick off their tournament with a quarter-final match on Wednesday.

The ‘Canes, the 2022 Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Champions, will face the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners, the 2022 Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) Champions in the opening match of the tournament at 10am local (2pm Atlantic Time).

“We are looking forward to getting the tournament started,” shared Hurricanes head coach, Jonathan Vos. “Playing a new opponent in a new place causes some good nerves, energy, and excitement.  VIU are always a formidable opponent; we have faced them several times at Nationals and it has always been tightly contested.”

The Hurricanes punched their ticket to the championship when they defeated the top-ranked St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies at the 2022 ACAA Championships last week in penalty kicks; it was the tenth conference championship in Hurricanes men’s soccer team history.  This is the first time the team has competed at the National Championship since 2019.

“I am very excited for my first nationals experience with Holland College,” shared second year striker from Daraa, Syria, and the 2022 ACAA Player of the Year, Mohammad Alhaj Ali. “We have to trust the coaches tactics and be ready to work.”

The Mariners (Nanaimo, BC) qualified for the event when they defeated the top-ranked Langara College Falcons (CCAA Nationals hosts) at the PACWEST Championships, claiming their first conference banner in 11 years.

This will be the third time the Hurricanes and Mariners have met at the CCAA National Championship, all in quarter final matches.  In 2011 the Hurricanes defeated the Mariners 2-1 en route to a national silver medal, while they were defeated by VIU in 2012 (3-0) and 2014 (1-0).

“The boys are absolutely buzzing to get the championship started,” shared third-year defender from Eldon, PEI, Daniel Martell. “With the combination of skill and heart this team has, we can beat anyone.”

The eight-team championship featuring the top collegiate men’s soccer teams from across the country kicks off with four quarter-final matches on Wednesday.  A win for the Hurricanes and they will advance to the semi-finals where they will face the winner of the Seneca Sting (Toronto, Ontario) v Nomades de Montmorency (Laval, Quebec) match on Thursday at 3pm local time (7pm Atlantic time).

For full tournament information, including how to watch all the championship matches live, visit www.ccaa.ca.

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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