By Reegan MacAulay
Although Mother Nature partially affected the beginning of the 2024 fall season for the Holland Hurricanes, with all baseball games being cancelled, it was a strong start as both the men’s and women’s soccer teams exited the weekend with well deserved points and promising performances, especially from rookies, in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) action.
Women’s Soccer
The Hurricanes women’s soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better start to their season as they won both of their games on the road and in front of a home crowd, scoring a whopping 10 goals and allowing zero goals against.
On Saturday, Holland visited the Crandall University Chargers in Moncton, N.B., and dominated both offensively and defensively en route to a 4-0 shutout victory. Under heavy showers, fourth-year midfielder Hayden Chaisson (St. Louis, P.E.I.) got the ‘Canes on the board at the 23-minute mark of the first half. For over 40 minutes, things remained tight until rookie midfielder Karissa George (New Glasgow, N.S.) scored her first career ACAA goal at the 66-minute mark of the second half. She added another goal at the 78-minute mark while second-year forward Kristyn Taylor (Summerside, P.E.I.) solidified a perfect first game for her group with a goal in the 85th minute.
Star goalkeeper Allison Rutt (Sheffield Mills, N.S.) started her second season on a high note with a clean sheet.
On Sunday, Holland returned to PEI for their first home game of the season, welcoming the Dalhousie Rams to the Terry Fox Sports Complex with brutal force, routing them 6-0. Chaisson added to her goal total on the weekend with three goals at the 24, 51, and 78-minute marks. Second-year midfielder Kate Ramsay (Stratford, P.E.I.) began the scoring at the 22-minute mark while Taylor added her second goal of the season at the 33-minute mark. Rookie midfielder Matsuri Sako (Kiyosu, Japan) took a turn at scoring her first career goal at the 82-minute mark to close out the scoring.
Rutt claimed the shutout victory, her second of the weekend.
The ‘Canes will take a week to prepare to remain undefeated and return to action with a pair of home games on Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 14. On Saturday, the 0-1-1 University of New Brunswick Saint John (UNBSJ) Seawolves will cross the Confederation Bridge looking for their first win of the season, coming off a 1-1 draw against MSVU and a 1-0 loss against UKC. On Sunday, the 0-0-2 St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies will take their turn at handing Holland their first loss of the season, pending Saturday’s result; STU tied both of their games this past weekend, 1-1 against UKC and MSVU.
This Saturday is Women’s Soccer Alumni Day in Cornwall. The ‘Canes are inviting all former players to attend the game as their guests, as we celebrate the Hurricanes success over the last 20 seasons.
Connect with the women’s soccer ‘Canes at www.instagram.com/caneswsoccer and www.x.com/caneswsoccer.
Men’s Soccer
While the women’s soccer Hurricanes had a weekend filled with goals and shutouts, the men’s soccer Hurricanes had to deal with a bit of adversity on Saturday which led them to turn things around on Sunday.
On Saturday, Holland joined the women with a match against the men’s Crandall University Chargers in Moncton. In a hard-fought game that saw 82 minutes of no scoring, Crandall’s Chase Pennell (Barrie, ON) started his ACAA career with a game-winning goal at the 83-minute mark, which was the game's only goal. The ‘Canes were unable to find the spark they needed to at least come out with one point, but the Chargers put up a terrific defensive effort.
Rookie goalkeeper Nolan Kowal (Airdie, AB) denied 13 of 14 shots in his first career ACAA start.
On Sunday, Holland returned home along with the women and rebounded nicely with a 3-1 win against the men’s Dalhousie Rams at the Terry Fox Sports Complex. It took 23 minutes for a team to get on the board, as rookie forward Chad McNally (Truro, N.S.) collected his first career goal to put the ‘Canes on the board. Three minutes later, the Rams struck back with a successful penalty kick to tie the game.
The next 36 minutes were filled with plenty of back-and-forth action. Finally, at the 70-minute mark, second-year forward Vinicius Boyd (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) came in clutch with a highlight-reel play to give Holland the lead and sealed the deal with another goal six minutes later.
Kowal claimed his first win in a Hurricanes uniform in goal.
Like the women’s Hurricanes, the men will take the next few days to prepare for their own pair of home games next weekend, with the men’s UNBSJ Seawolves (1-0-1) in town on Saturday and the men’s STU Tommies (1-0-1) on the field on Sunday. UNBSJ defeated MSVU 2-1 and drew with UKC 3-3 over this past weekend while STU drew with UKC 2-2 and defeated MSVU 4-1.
Saturday at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall is the Hurricanes Men’s Soccer Alumni Day. Former players are encouraged to attend, free of charge, as we celebrate the Hurricanes soccer history.
Connect with the men’s soccer ‘Canes at www.instagram.com/canesmsoccer and www.x.com/canesmsoccer.
Baseball
Due to heavy rain and poor field conditions, both Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association (ACBA) season-opening doubleheaders for the Holland Hurricanes baseball team were cancelled and rescheduled to early October.
The home-opening doubleheader against the Acadia Axemen at Victoria Park on Saturday, Sept. 7 was rescheduled to Saturday, Oct. 5.
The away doubleheader against the Dalhousie Tigers in Halifax, N.S. on Sunday, Sept 8 was rescheduled to Sunday, Oct. 6.
Connect with the baseball ‘Canes at www.instagram.com/hollandcanesbaseball and www.x.com/hcanesbaseball.
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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