The 2019-20 was another successful one for the St. Thomas University Tommies women’s soccer team.
After finishing the regular season with a record of 8-3-1, the team dispatched the reigning ACAA Champion, Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics, in the ACAA Semi-Final, 4-2, before bowing out to the Holland College Hurricanes, 3-2 in the finals.
The Tommies were led by Kaleigh Roberts (Moncton, NB) and Leandra Upton (Fredericton, NB) who were named 1st Team ACAA All-Stars, with Louisa Hughes (Fredericton, NB) and Phoebe van der Meulen (Summerside, PE) joining on the 2nd Team.
“Our four ACAA All-Stars have been integral to the success of the team over the past two seasons,” said Tommies head coach Michelle DeCourcey. “They make up our strong defensive core and provide leadership on and off the pitch. Our three graduating All-Stars, along with all of our graduating players, have contributed so much to the program and will leave big shoes to fill.”
The Tommies were paced on the offensive end by 2nd year midfielder Abbey Curwin (Saint John, NB), who led the team with 7 goals on the year. Kianna Laurin (Ottawa, ON), was an interesting story for the Tommies after transferring from the women’s rugby team to hold down the job between the posts for the Tommies throughout the year.
The Tommies received great contribution from their first-year players, including Tommies Athlete of the Week, Abby Cameron (Fredericton, NB), who DeCourcey said “played her two best games of the year during the ACAA Championships”.
“Our first-year players have grown a whole lot since the first day of preseason,” said DeCourcey. “They worked hard to earn their spot on the team and have continued to develop into reliable and respected teammates. Several rookies vying for spaces on our starting line-up kept things competitive in training and meant we had depth on our bench throughout the season.”
After losing last year in the ACAA Finals the team set the goal of winning the banner this year, and despite not quite making their goal DeCourcey was elated with how her team performed overall.
“We fell just short of our goal of winning the championship banner, but the team came a long way over the course of the season, and I couldn't have asked for a better performance from them during playoffs. The team played as a unit and left everything they had on the pitch. I'm proud of the work they put in and the character and class they displayed.”
The team will now take to the offseason to train and retool in order to make another run at an ACAA banner in the 2020-21 season.