By Reegan MacAulay
The Holland Hurricanes experienced yet another weekend of mixed results across the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA), Atlantic Football League (AFL) and Atlantic Collegiate Baseball Association (ACBA). Here’s what happened for the ‘Canes between Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22.
Women’s Soccer
A young Hurricanes women’s soccer team came out of their Nova Scotia weekend road trip with two points across two ties.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes visited the University of King’s College (UKC) Blue Devils in Halifax, N.S., who were tied with Holland in the standings going into the game. Both teams failed to score, resulting in a 0-0 draw, with UKC controlling much of the match, outshooting the ‘Canes, 12-5, and putting up a solid effort both offensively and defensively. Both teams exited the game with a 2-1-2 record.
On Sunday, Holland visited the league-leading Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU) Mystics intending to hand them their first loss of the season. Both teams scored two goals each but neither could get in front of the other on the scoresheet, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Sacha Clark got the Mystics on the board at the six-minute mark, but 24 minutes later, Shania Kearney and rookie midfielder Matsuri Sako (Kiyosu, Japan) gave the ‘Canes a 2-1 lead at the 30-minute and 70-minute marks. A win was in the squad’s sights until a goal at the 87-minute mark by Annabelle Lendrum-Harnish dashed their hopes.
Second-year star goalkeeper Allison Rutt (Sheffield Mills, N.S.) was in goal for both games over the weekend.
The Mystics are now 3-0-3 and remain the top team in the league while Holland is 2-1-3 and two points back of a second-place tie between UNBSJ and UKC.
Catch the Hurricanes back in action next weekend on Saturday, Sept. 28 on the road and on Sunday, Sept. 29 at home. Saturday’s game is in Truro, N.S. against the 1-5-0 Dalhousie Rams and Sunday’s game is in Cornwall, P.E.I. against the 1-5-0 Crandall University Chargers. Both games are at 1 p.m.
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Men’s Soccer
While the women’s soccer team exited the weekend with two points, the men’s soccer squad had worse luck with just one point across two games in Nova Scotia and failed to, for the second weekend in a row, put a goal on the scoresheet.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes visited the men’s UKC Blue Devils, who sought their first win of the season having tied every one of their games since starting the season. A strong first half by the Blue Devils gave them the advantage to start as Luke Kotaska scored at the six-minute mark. The second half saw the physicality rise and both teams pushed hard against each other, but a goal at the 63-minute mark by Coleton Walker sealed the deal for a 2-0 UKC win. Four players recorded shots on goal for the Hurricanes. UKC came out with a 1-0-4 record while Holland’s record went to 1-3-1.
On Sunday, Holland visited the men’s MSVU Mystics, who were tied for fourth place in the standings going into the game and seeking their second win of the season. Neither team succeeded in scoring, which resulted in a 0-0 draw. MSVU now has a record of 2-2-2 while the ‘Canes are 1-4-1 and sit sixth in the conference.
Catch Holland back in action next weekend joining the women’s squad with a road trip to Dalhousie on Saturday, Sept. 28 and a home match against Crandall on Sunday, Sept. 29.
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Football
The Hurricanes football team went from experiencing the highest of highs at their season opener last weekend to the what could have been in this past Sunday’s home game, losing heartbreakingly to the Dalhousie Tigers 24-21.
Holland had a solid start, taking a 7-0 lead thanks to a touchdown by second-year receiver Keiler Purcell (Mineville, N.S.) early in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Dalhousie threw a touchdown to tie the game 7-7 and only minutes later took a 14-7 lead. A field goal in the closing seconds before halftime had the Tigers leading 17-7 going into the second half.
In the third quarter, a bad snap for a punt by the Tigers was recovered by second-year receiver Zac Toner (Cornwall, P.E.I.) which led to the ‘Canes offense taking over at the 30-yard line and rookie receiver Erron Beachey (North Bay, Ontario) scoring a touchdown to close the gap to 17-14. Later, a missed field goal attempt by Dalhousie was returned for 110-yards by Keegan Cardona for yet another touchdown, giving the ‘Canes a 21-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
After an intense final quarter, a touchdown in the closing minute by Dalhousie sealed the deal, handing Holland their first loss of the season. The Tigers now remain undefeated at 2-0 while the ‘Canes are 1-1.
Catch the Hurricanes back in action next Saturday, Sept. 28 as they head to Saint John, N.B. to play the 0-2 Saint John Falcons at the Canada Games Stadium at 2 p.m. It’ll be the first game between the two teams this season. The Falcons lost 69-0 to Dalhousie and 51-7 to UNB, so they’ll be eager to say “third time’s the charm” in their third game next Saturday.
The ‘Canes next home games is on Sunday, October 6 versus Saint John at the UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place in Charlottetown; kickoff is at 1pm.
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Baseball
Across two doubleheaders in Nova Scotia, the Hurricanes baseball team walked off the mound with a 2-2 record over this past weekend.
On Saturday, the ‘Canes visited the defending champions, the Acadia University Axemen in Kentville, N.S., who were eager to take the league lead away from Holland.
Game one was a spirited battle with both teams putting up strong performances, but in the end, the ‘Canes won the war 3-0. Third-year outfielder Josh Flynn (Moncton, N.B.) got Holland on the board in the second inning with a single, with fourth-year shortstop Dylan Worth (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) also recording a single in the third inning and third-year infielder Sam Worth (Stratford, P.E.I.) helping first-year outfielder Simon Dubois (Stittsville, Ontario) score in the seventh inning. Third-year pitching star Ethan Smith (Stratford, P.E.I.) recorded all 21 outs.
In game two, Holland wasn’t as fortunate clutch-wise, as while they had a strong start thanks to two runs by Dylan Worth and one run by Flynn, the Axemen turned things around and went from being down 3-1 to stealing the lead 4-3 at the bottom of the second inning. Acadia would take the victory, 5-3.
Rookie pitcher Alex Hache (Ottawa, Ontario) opened the game for the ‘Canes, allowing four hits and four runs, striking out five, and walking three.
Acadia exited the weekend sitting at 5-3 and in third in the standings.
On Sunday, Holland visited the 4-2 St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) X-Men in Antigonish, N.S., who were coming off a big doubleheader sweep against Dalhousie the previous day and had plenty of momentum. For Holland, Sunday’s doubleheader had a much different atmosphere compared to Saturday’s, as both games against St. FX saw teams take turns dominating in terms of the final score.
Game one was all Holland as they demolished the X-Men 11-4. While the ‘Canes had a slow start going down 3-1 at the end of the first inning, they quickly turned things around and, despite encountering a brief tie in the fourth inning, dominated the rest of the game.
Rookie pitcher Cayle Coffin (Pisquid, P.E.I.) stepped on the bump first for Holland, giving up seven hits and four runs over seven innings, striking out seven and walking one. The team recorded 15 hits and rookie outfielder Jacob Steeves (Moncton, N.B.) led the team with four RBI’s.
Game two saw a complete swap as the X-Men jumped out to a lead as far as 8-0 in the third inning thanks to multiple singles, a double, and an error. At the bottom of the fourth inning, St. FX piled a whopping seven runs on six hits while Holland, for the rest of the game, could only manage to score three runs in a final 15-3 loss.
Second-year pitcher Mason Atkinson (Riverview, N.B.) started the game on the bump for the ‘Canes, allowing five hits and five runs over one inning, striking out none, and walking none.
The Hurricanes are now 6-2 and sit second in the standings. Catch the team back in action next weekend at home on Saturday, Sept. 28 against the 2-7 Dalhousie Tigers and a road trip on Sunday, Sept. 29 in Fredericton against the league-leading 7-2 University of New Brunswick (UNB) Reds.
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