By Reegan MacAulay
A dramatic weekend of Holland Hurricanes action saw the women’s and men’s soccer teams and the football team wrap up their 2024 regular seasons. While the football and women’s soccer squads experienced misfortune in their final games which they seek to turn around in playoff action next weekend, the men’s soccer team is done for the year after falling just short of a playoff spot.
Here’s what happened in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) and Atlantic Football League (AFL) competition between Saturday, Oct. 19 and Sunday, Oct. 20.
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer Hurricanes had a rough ending to their 2024 regular season, losing a pair of home games and failing to get on the scoresheet both times. While they still easily clinched their way into the 2024 ACAA Championships at Crandall University in Moncton, N.B., the two losses dropped them to the third seed going in.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes welcomed the league-leading, 6-0-4 Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics, hoping to catch them in the standings (three-point deficit) and break a season series tie which started back on Sept. 22 with a 2-2 draw in Halifax, N.S. The Mystics controlled most of the game thanks to a consistent effort and a lethal defense, and they eventually got on the board at the 51-minute mark with a goal from Leah Mombourquette. Sacha Clark added another goal at the 83-minute mark to seal the deal as Holland struggled to make plays and get close to the net.
MSVU improved to 7-0-4 and eventually went on to go 8-0-4 and claim first place after another win on Sunday, while the Hurricanes dropped to 5-2-4.
On Sunday, Holland looked for a rebound against the 4-1-6 University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils, who had also previously tied the Hurricanes 0-0 on Sept. 21 in Halifax, N.S. In a battle for the second seed going into the ACAA Championships, the Blue Devils were a similar opponent to MSVU on Saturday, maintaining more ball possession and consistently keeping the Hurricanes out of their end. Tia Lovegrove scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win for UKC, improving the team’s record to 5-1-6 and claiming second place while Holland dropped to 5-3-4, giving them third place.
After Sunday’s game, head coach Jonathan Vos spoke about dealing with the absence of key players and the improvements the squad will need to apply heading into next weekend’s playoffs.
“There were some good moments, some good halves, some bad halves. A bit of two different sides of it. I think for us, we have to be a little braver, have a little more confidence to go after a game and to attack it. We have the pieces to get the job done. Just a matter of putting it together for 90 minutes.
“We have two great midfielders in (Matsuri) Sako and Karissa (George), I’d like to see them get on the ball as much as possible as they can control the tempo of the game. We were missing a couple of key defenders through injuries and suspensions, so hopefully, we get them back for the playoffs,” Vos said.
The Hurricanes will now take a week to prepare ahead of the ACAA Championships in Moncton, where they will have a rematch against UKC in semifinal action on Saturday, Oct. 26.
For more information on the 2024 ACAA Chamionships, visit www.acaa.ca.
Connect with the women’s soccer ‘Canes at www.x.com/caneswsoccer and www.instagram.com/caneswsoccer.
Men’s Soccer
As for the men’s soccer Hurricanes, a weekend that started with promise ended with complete heartbreak. A big win on Saturday gave the young squad some hope for a late-season push toward the final playoff spot, but an eventful draw on Sunday was the nail in the coffin for a 16-year playoff streak.
Entering the weekend, the ‘Canes were three points behind a two-way tie for fourth in the conference between the MSVU Mystics and the Crandall University Chargers, and were set on creating a Cinderella story for the ages starting Saturday. That day, they welcomed the Mystics to their home turf and put on a performance that blew everybody away, showing a level of grit and determination that hadn’t been seen in a long time. It was all helped by a penalty kick awarded to second-year forward Vinicius Boyd (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at the 11-minute mark, which he easily scored, giving Holland a 1-0 lead.
The team also took advantage of multiple yellows against the Mystics as the game went on, which put them down two players. While MSVU made solid adjustments and put forward a push in the closing minutes, it wasn’t enough as the Hurricanes stood tall defensively and held on to win 1-0. With the Mystics losing plus the Chargers having lost to the STU Tommies 2-0, there was a three-way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot going into Sunday. A Hurricanes win would provide the biggest hope pending the results of other games played that day.
On Sunday, with the season on the line, Holland welcomed the second-place, 6-1-4 UKC Blue Devils to Cornwall for a match for the ages. While hope faded in the first half after goals by UKC at the three and 15-minute marks, rookie forward Chad McNally (Truro, N.S.) began a turnaround effort with a goal at the 31-minute mark. In one of the wildest back-and-forth halves ACAA fans have witnessed in recent memory, both teams battled a war while fans cheered loudly from each side.
As the Hurricanes slowly grabbed control of the match, a series of corner kicks around the halfway point of the second half eventually led to third-year forward Parker MacLeod (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) scoring his first and only goal of the season to tie the game. Tragically, as much as Holland tried in the closing minutes and extra time they had, they couldn’t grab the extra two points they needed, which resulted in a 2-2 draw and the season officially over. It was the team’s first playoff DNQ since it first entered the ACAA in 2006.
Head coach Jonathan Vos said the team, which was very emotional afterwards, left it out on the field in their efforts to keep their playoff streak alive.
“We had a lot of ups and downs, a lot of inconsistencies throughout the year,” Vos said. “The boys definitely built themselves back up and really pushed themselves through in the second half of the season. All of the guys raised their level, especially from the start of the season to the end. We’ll be losing some key players, so we’ll see if we can keep some educations going and we’d love to get them back. We’ve got to do a refocus and find some fresh faces.”
Connect with the men’s soccer ‘Canes at www.x.com/canesmsoccer and www.instagram.com/canesmsoccer.
Football
The football Hurricanes concluded their 2024 AFL regular season with a heartbreaking 31-28 overtime loss to the league-leading Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax, N.S. on Sunday.
Holland started strong with a field goal to claim a 3-0 lead, which they held exiting the first quarter. A great defensive effort was made as multiple field goal attempts were blocked and consistent interceptions kept the score where it was. The Hurricanes added to their score with a touchdown by fifth-year receiver Aaron McCardle (Kinburn, Ontario), making it 10-0 as the second quarter wound down. Dalhousie would slowly crawl back, scoring a touchdown and a successful PAT to make it 10-7 at halftime.
The Tigers added another touchdown and successful PAT in the early stages of the third quarter, taking a 14-10 lead and eventually extending it to 25-10. Holland wasn’t ready to quit when the fourth quarter came around, as second-year receiver Wolf Sym (Tillsonburg, Ontario), rookie running back Pierce Saunders (St. Patricks, P.E.I.), and fourth-year quarterback Hunter Prus (Bedeque, P.E.I.) each contributed to an incredible comeback that helped tie the game 25-25. Overtime was required and, despite a field goal from second-year kicker Simon Hales (Victoria, B.C.) to give the Hurricanes a 28-25 lead, a rushing touchdown by Dalhousie just minutes later gave the Tigers a 31-28 win.
Dalhousie ended the season going undefeated at 6-0 while Holland dropped to 3-3, which places them in a tie with the UNB Reds for second place; in terms of home-field advantage for the AFL semifinals, UNB wins the tiebreaker. Both teams will face each other in a sudden-death match in Fredericton, N.B. on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the winner advancing to play Dalhousie in the AFL Championship Game one weekend later. The game is scheduled for a 1pm start.
Connect with the football ‘Canes at www.facebook.com/canesmfootball, www.x.com/canesmfootball and www.instagram.com/canesmfootball.
Connect with the Holland Hurricanes at www.hollandhurricanes.com, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes,www.x.com/hc_hurricanes and www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.
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