Last week instuitions from the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) competed at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) cross country and soccer championships.
The STU Tommies hosted the 2024 CCAA men's soccer national championship tournament on the Grant-Harvey turf in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The Tommies men's soccer team fell short in their quarter-final match-ups but finished the tournament strong with a 2-1(PK) win over Les Rouges de Saint-Boniface. Also competing the UKC Blue Devils came just shy of advancing to the bronze medal match with a 3-1 loss to Langara Falcons.
CCAA Coach of the Year
Tommies Head Coach, John-Ryan Morrison was crowned CCAA Coach of the Year at the Nationals Awards Banquet. He is the first New Brunswick-based men’s soccer coach to receive the honour.
Planning to step down following this season, he says he knows it is the right time to move on. “I knew after we won the ACAA a couple of weeks ago it was the right decision. I wanted to leave on top and here we are.”
He’s been coaching, or playing, or been on a board of directors for 27 years in all. For the last decade, his tireless energies have been directed toward the green and gold.
Coaching the Tommies “has been my full-time job outside of my full-time job,” said Morrison, whose other full-time job is executive director of the New Brunswick Construction Association. “This is just a love affair and a passion that takes full time hours.”
“There’s nothing I love more than soccer,” Morrison said. “All my friends come from soccer…all my travels (seven World Cups and five European championships) come from soccer. It’s all I’ve really known. I don’t really know what I’m going to do, but a little ‘me time’ for sure,” he said.
Earning additonal CCAA accolades were Dan Keripe, STU Tommies and Evan Couturier, Crandall Chargers as All-Canadians, and Samuel Choiniere, St. Thomas Tommies being named to the CCAA Championship All Star team.
2024 ACAA women's soccer champions, the MSVU Mystics travelled to Squamish, BC to compete in the CCAA women's soccer national championship hosted by Capilano University. After falling short in two tight matches the Mystics finished in 7th place after defeating the Brandon Bobcats 1-0.
Sacha Clark, MSVU Mystics and Victoria Iatrou, UKC Blue Devils were both named CCAA All-Canadians.
11 ACAA cross country runners competed at the CCAA cross country national championship hosted by St. Clair College. The course at Malden Park was a mixed terrain with various surfaces including pavement, grass, gravel and dirt.
2024 ACAA gold medalist, Madesen Allen of the MSVU Mystics finished the women's 6km race in 27:03.90 placing 55th overall. The top-three ACAA finshers in the men's 8km race were Zach Comber, Dalhousie Rams in 22nd place, Luke Purdy, Crandall Chargers in 28th place, and Jackson Culberson, Crandall Chargers in 50th place.
Visit ccaa.ca for more details on the national championships.