STU Tommies Capture 12 Awards at ACAA Soccer Banquet
Players and a coach from the STU Tommies men’s and women’s soccer programs captured twelve awards at the ACAA Awards Banquet, marking the end of the 2023–24 regular season.
The men’s program took home three major conference awards. Men’s player Josh Oakes from Kitchener, Ontario, was named ACAA Men’s Soccer Player of the Year. During the regular season, Oakes had 13 goals, four of which were game-winners. His coach, John Ryan Morrison, earned Coach of the Year honors, and Mees Van Nouhuys, from Heemstede, The Netherlands, was named ACAA Men’s Soccer Rookie of the Year.
Coach Morrison’s team is the only one in Canada to complete back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, going 30-0-6. This season in the ACAA, his team went 10-0-2 and finished with a +42 goal differential. In 2021, he led the Tommies to their first ACAA banner in over two decades and earned the first CCAA championship tournament win in the school’s history.
“Obviously, after the great regular season we had, losing the way we did in the semifinals will take some time to process, but there were positives, including another undefeated regular season, 7 ACAA Allstars, and we produced the ACAA Player and Rookie of the Year. For most programs, that would be enough for one of the best years in their history, but we wanted to set a higher standard this year, and now we have 9 months of offseason training to try and come back stronger next year,” Morrison commented after the end of the season.
Abby Cameron Receives Gerry Leblanc Award
Women’s soccer player Caitlyn Steeves was named All-Conference First Team, and Abby Cameron secured a spot on the Second Team.
Cameron also received the Gerry Leblanc Award, which is awarded annually to an ACAA female soccer player who best combines qualities of leadership, fair play, enthusiasm, and ability, both on and off the field.
“Its an honor to be this year's recipient of the Gerry Leblanc Award. I’m very grateful for my coaches and teammates who helped with everything and made this year so amazing,” Cameron said.
Women’s soccer team commitment extended far beyond the soccer field, as they actively participated in various community activities/volunteer work, embodying the values of sportsmanship, empathy, and leadership.
“A fun first season with lots of positives to build on for the next year, with great performances from the first years and seniors that will be missed. Although the semi-final did go our way there were lots of lessons learned, and we will be back next season to win it all," Itoafa said.
Men's soccer placed three players on the All-Conference First Team: Josh Oakes, Elias Stiphout, and Mees Van Nohouys. Sam Choiniere, Aiden Lavery, and Laurent Lambert were named to the All-Conference Second Team, and the Second Team All-Conference Keeper was awarded to Luke Ewen, who conceded just two goals during the season.
Overall, men’s soccer was 10-0-2 during the regular season, and women’s soccer was 5-6-1.
Both teams fell in the championship semifinals. Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics topped the #1-seeded Tommies 3-0 in the first semifinal. On the women’s side, eventual champions Holland College Hurricanes defeated the Tommies 7-0 in the opening game of the women's championship tournament.