ACAA News

The Holland College Hurricanes captured the 2022 ACAA Men’s Soccer Championship after besting the St. Thomas University Tommies in penalty kicks. Tommies’ Brett Springer netted the first goal of the match, and the Tommies carried the 1-0 lead into the half. The Hurricanes didn't get on the board until the 50th minute when Mohammed Alhaj Ali beat STU’s keeper, Luke Ewen, to even things up. The Hurricanes took the lead by executing off a rare mistake from Ewen - a miscommunication that led Keisuke Masuda to an open net, giving the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead late in the game. The Tommies were forced to play a man short after Gray Cyr was shown off the pitch after receiving his second yellow card of the match. Despite being a man short, there was no quit in the shorthanded Tommies. A corner kick led to an Elias Stiphout header, tying the match at two goals apiece. In the 82nd minute, Hurricanes’ striker Mohammed Alhaj Ali managed to sneak past the STU defenders for a breakaway, but the Tommies’ keeper was up for the challenge. Ewen made a sliding tackle to rob Alhaj Ali of his second goal of the game and send the game to overtime. But the late game heroics didn't prevent the Hurricanes from celebrating on the Grant-Harvey Turf Field. The ‘Canes captured the banner after Yannick MacPhee found the back of the net, giving Holland College the 4-3 edge in penalty kicks. Hurricanes Head Coach Jonathan Vos couldn't have been prouder of his squad. "It's just amazing," he said. "I'm just so proud of them." The Hurricanes had gone to extra time in their semi-final match the previous day against the University of King's College Blue Devils as well.

Vos said he didn't have to tell his team much prior to kick-off. Holland was locked in. "When I walked into the locker room, you could just feel the energy and the focus," Vos said. "It was just a few short words to make sure they we were in this together and to battle for each other." ACAA Player of the Year, Mohammed Alhaj Ali, had nothing but praise for his teammates after the win. "My teammates are unbelievable; I just want to say a big thank you to my teammates and coaches," Alhaj Ali said. After losing to the Tommies in the finals the previous year in penalty kicks, he said Ewen knew him well, so he aimed for the left instead of his right. "He got a touch on it, but it was a powerful kick."

The crowd went silent, as Ashley Neves of the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics stared down the Keeper of the Year Jillian Smith – penalty kicks would be the deciding factor in this ACAA Championship match, and Neves could end it. As the whistle blew, Neves made no mistake. The Mystics had won another ACAA Championship. “My teammates told me to go up there with confidence,” Neves said. “That’s what I did, and it felt great.” 120 minutes wasn’t enough to find an ACAA Champion. The Mystics and University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves needed penalty kicks in the ACAA Finals at the Grant-Harvey Turf Field. The Mystics held most of the possession for the first 20 minutes of the match, but couldn’t generate any dangerous scoring chances.

The Seawolves slow start didn’t last long – UNBSJ put on the pressure late in the first half. One of their best chances came in the 42nd minute, as the Seawolves attacker made a beautiful crossover before placing the ball in the box. The Seawolves couldn’t get a foot on it, as MSVU cleared. The second half featured much of the same – a pressuring Seawolves team that couldn’t get one by Mystics goalkeeper Morgan Gillies.

The Mystics would come down the field and get their best chance of the half as well, after a centered ball created a scramble in front of the net, giving the Mystics a great scoring chance – but the ACAA Keeper of the Year, Jillian Smith, kept the game tied, making the save. The first half of extra time was evenly contested, not seeing many scoring opportunities. MSVU cranked up the pressure late in the second half of extra time, but the game remained scoreless, forcing penalty kicks. Gillies said it felt amazing to win the championship after losing in the finals last season. “It just feels so good to take gold home,” she said.