October 26, 2018

The Holland Hurricanes men’s and women’s soccer teams will be taking on the best in the conference this weekend at the ACAA Soccer Championships. Both teams will be facing the MSVU Mystics in the semi-finals on Saturday, with the women playing at 10am and the men at 2:30pm.

On Friday, both teams attended the 2018 ACAA Soccer banquet.

The highlight of the night was men’s winger, Shunya Kobyashi, being named the men’s soccer Player of the Year.

A member of the Hurricanes has taken this award home on five other occasions since 2009. Kobayashi is the third different ‘Canes player to be recognized with this award, joining Tommy Fleming (2009) and Ibra Sanoh (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).

This season, Kobayashi scored seven goals and 20 points for the Hurricanes, leading them to a 9-2-1 record; they enter this weekend’s championship as the number one seed.

Kobayashi is a first-year player for the ‘Canes from Yachiyo, Japan.

For the women, third-year winger, Sabrina Molnar, was announced as one of two CCAA All Canadians from the conference.

A leader for the Hurricanes, Molnar scored six goals and 18 points during the regular season; she was a driving force in the Hurricanes third place finish with a 8-3-1 record.

Molnar is from Ottawa, Ontario and studying in the Travel & Tourism Management program.

The ACAA also named the men’s and women’s first and second all-conference teams.

Women’s players, Nicole Fergusson and Sabrina Molnar were announced as members of the ACAA first all-conference team, while Kathrine McEwen and Jade Stewart were selected to the ACAA second all-conference team.

On the men’s side, Bobby Gamba, Aleco Iatrou and Shunya Kobayashi were all announced as first team all-conference players, with Alex Lourenso, Theo Ngezahayo and Jonah Wilton being named to the second.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s semi-final games, the women’s Hurricanes will renew their playoff rivalry with the Mystics, whom they faced in the ACAA finals for five-straight years, from 2012 through 2016.

The Hurricanes finished this year in third place with an 8-3-1 record and 25 points while the Mystics finished in second with a 9-2-1 record and 28 points. The ‘Canes lost both games to the Mystics this year by scores of 4-1 in Charlottetown on September 15, and 5-1 in Halifax on September 29.

The Hurricanes were led offensively this year by Kathrine McEwen with eight goals and Sabrina Molnar with six. Hailey Terstege started all 12 games in goal for the women, picking up eight wins and six shutouts.

The men’s ‘Canes enter the weekend having won the last four conference titles and six in the last seven years; they also took home a CCAA National bronze medal in 2018.

The Hurricanes once again finished the regular season atop the ACAA standings, this time with a 9-2-1 record and 28 points. The Mystics finished in fourth with a 6-3-3 record and 21 points in a tightly contested ACAA regular season.

The ‘Canes won both games in the season series versus MSVU, picking up a 2-1 win in Charlottetown on September 15 and a 4-2 victory in Halifax on September 29.

Shunya Kobayashi led the way offensively for the ‘Canes with seven goals while Tegan Misener added five. Three other players chipped in with four goals on the season while Brandon Lund started all 12 games in net for the men and recorded nine wins and six shutouts.

All championship games can be viewed live at www.acaatv.ca.

Winning teams from Saturday’s semi-final matches will advance to the ACAA Championship games on Sunday at 12pm (women) and 2:30pm (men).

For more information on the 2018 ACAA Soccer Championships, visit www.acaa.ca.

To connect with the soccer Hurricanes, visit www.twitter.com/caneswsoccerand www.twitter.com/canesmsoccer.

For more information on the Holland Hurricanes please visit, www.hollandcollege.com/athletics, www.facebook.com/hollandhurricanes, www.twitter.com/hc_hurricanesand www.instagram.com/hollandhurricanes.

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