By Reegan MacAulay
Another busy weekend of Holland Hurricanes action awaits. While a hurricane will be brewing across the Maritimes for most of the weekend, Hurricanes fans will get to see some home action on Sunday afternoon from our league-leading football team.
Here’s what’s to come between Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA), Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association (ACBA), and Atlantic Football League (AFL) competition between Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22.
Football
After an incredible start to the 2024 AFL season which saw the football Hurricanes make a comeback for the ages against the defending champions, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds, they are set to keep the momentum going with another big matchup this Sunday.
It’ll be a battle between the only two undefeated teams left as the Dalhousie Tigers come across the Confederation Bridge after a whopping 69-0 home-opening win against the Saint John Falcons last Saturday, Sept. 14. Leading the charge in the routing were Ethan Lord on offense, Daniel Forbes on defense, and Liam Masner on special teams, with all three being named the week one AFL Players of the Week for Dalhousie.
As for the ‘Canes, second-year kicker/punter Simon Hales (Victoria, B.C.) returned to AFL competition making it clear that he’s in to help chase after a championship, and rookie receiver/returner Keegan Cardona (London, ON) also made a statement in his AFL debut as his touchdown last Saturday was one of many factors in the big comeback victory. There’s also fourth-year quarterback Hunter Prus (Bedeque, P.E.I.) and third-year linebacker Owen MacLeod, who were each named Holland’s week one AFL Athletes of the Week alongside Hales. MacLeod was also named the Hurricanes Athlete of the Week.
Game time is at 1 p.m. This Sunday is “Family Day” which means there will be a family ticket special (2 adults, 2 kids for $20, must be pre-purchased by Friday at 4pm by emailing dccudmore@hollandcollege.com), free admission to all minor football players wearing their Football PEI jersey, and free admission for all 色多多视频APP students and staff (must show Holl Pass at entry).
Sunday’s game will also be live streamed at .
Connect with the football Hurricanes at , and .
Women’s Soccer
After a heartbreaking weekend which saw the 2-1-1 and nationally-ranked Hurricanes women’s soccer team have their winning streak end with a 1-1 draw and a 3-2 loss, the squad hopes to get back to their winning ways with a road trip to Halifax, N.S.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes visit the 2-1-1 University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils, who are tied with Holland for third place in the standings with seven points. UKC is coming off a big home-opening 7-1 win against Crandall University, which was redemption for a 2-0 loss against the league-leading Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The Blue Devils have been relying on players like veterans Tia Lovegrove and Faye Little to carry the charge; each player has combined for five goals in four games.
On Sunday, Holland will play the undefeated MSVU Mystics, who have won their last two games (both with zero goals against), have yet to have a game with zero points going their way, and have allowed just two goals against after four games. All of those storylines might change completely before Sunday, however, as they must first visit the Dalhousies Rams on Saturday. MSVU’s heavy veteran presence will be a major challenge for the more youthful ‘Canes squad.
As for who to keep an eye on for the Hurricanes, fourth-year midfielder Hayden Chaisson (St. Louis, P.E.I.) and second-year forward Kristyn Taylor (Summerside, P.E.I.) continue to pioneer the squad but have struggled on the scoresheet, especially since Chaisson was named the Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week and ACAA Female Athlete of the Week. Several players hope to build momentum after scoring their first career goals in recent games, including defense Georgia Doucette (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) and forward Tamara Gauthier (Charlottetown, P.E.I.).
Saturday and Sunday’s game times are both at 1 p.m.
Connect with the women’s soccer ‘Canes at and .
Men’s Soccer
While the women have experienced some wins so far, the men’s soccer Hurricanes have found themselves in a rut with recent 4-0 and 9-0 losses putting them at the bottom of the ACAA. A road trip to Halifax, N.S. alongside the women provides optimism for team-building and to get back on the right track.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes will visit the men’s UKC Blue Devils, who have tied every one of their four games played so far, most recently recording 1-1 ties against MSVU and Crandall.
On Sunday, Holland challenges the men’s MSVU Mystics, who are tied with UKC for fourth place in the standings with four points, but have a 1-2-1 record instead, most recently tying UKC 1-1 and defeating Crandall 2-0. The men’s Mystics, like the women, also have a match against the Dalhousie Rams the day before, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out going into Sunday for both the women and the men.
As for who to keep an eye out for with the ‘Canes, the squad has gone scoreless in the last two games, but multiple players will seek to return the energy they had when the season began, including second-year forward Vinicius Boyd (Rio de Janerio, Brazil) and rookie forward Chad McNally (Truro, N.S.)
Saturday and Sunday’s game times are both at 3:15 p.m.
Connect with the men’s soccer ‘Canes at and .
Baseball
Another Hurricanes team on a high trend is the baseball squad, who couldn’t have asked for a better start to their 2024 ACBA season with four wins in four games and the top spot in the league last weekend. The pressure is on this weekend to achieve a potential 8-0 record to begin the season. Not only that, both doubleheaders are on the road and one of them is against the defending champions.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes visit the current ACBA crown holders, the Acadia University Axemen, who are right behind Holland in the standings with a 3-1 record and are eager to steal the league lead. After experiencing a 4-3 loss against the SMU Huskies to begin the season, Acadia went haywire in games two through three, winning 6-1 in game two and adding 11-8 and 8-2 wins against the Dalhousie Tigers.
On Sunday, Holland visits the 2-2 St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) X-Men, who had a solid start to their season with 12-10 and 15-3 wins against Dalhousie but couldn’t figure things out against UNB with chaotic 6-2 and 18-16 losses.
For the ‘Canes, It’ll be a matter of not getting too confident while still maintaining a winning mindset. Last weekend was a massive start for multiple rookies, as outfielder Simon Dubois (Stittsville, ON) was named the Hurricanes Baseball Player of the Week after achieving multiple hits across last weekend’s doubleheaders, and Thomas MacEachern (Cardigan, P.E.I.) was equally good in both batting and pitching, recording doubles in bat and striking out five players in pitching. Add the veteran group including players like reigning ACBA MVP and Pitcher of the Year Ethan Smith and infielder Sam Worth out of Stratford, P.E.I., and former ACBA All-Star shortstop Dylan Worth (Charlottetown, P.E.I.).
Games start at 1 and 3:30 p.m. each day.
Connect with the baseball ‘Canes at and .
Women’s Rugby
After a close but triumphant home-opening win last Sunday, the Hurricanes will have the weekend off with the St. Thomas University (STU) Tommies forfeiting their match on Sunday in Charlottetown.
The Tommies, like Holland, started their 2024 season with a home-opening game last Sunday but failed to put anything up on the scoresheet, losing 19-0 to the UNB Reds.
Due to injuries on the Tommies roster, the game will not be played on Sunday.
Second-year back row/centre Annik Whiten (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) took the field by storm last weekend in her return to ACAA action, scoring two tries and stealing multiple opposition throw-ins. Her agility, work ethic, and diverse roles within the squad earned her the most recent Hurricanes Female Athlete of the Week and ACAA Female Athlete of the Week.
Don’t forget other players like rookie back row/prop Emily Nauss (Quispamsis, N.B.), who had a strong first impression with her sharp maneuvering, and third-year centre/wing Madeline MacDonald (Souris, P.E.I.), whose veteran presence and leadership is always something to be reckoned with.
The ‘Canes will now begin to prepare for their road match on September 29 in Fredericton, New Brunswick versus the UNB Reds.
Connect with the women’s rugby ‘Canes at .
For more information on the Holland Hurricanes please visit , , and .
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