The performance of this year’s Tigers men’s soccer team was once again superb. The season was one of transition as twelve new faces were in the line-up for the Tigers, including two engineering students, B.J. Grechuk ad Peter Davidson and ten rookies. There were nine 18 year olds and one 17 year old, making the Tiger team one of the youngest in the league. Of the nine returning players, two will graduate this year, including Colin Duffy and Tiger Matt Johnson.
The Tigers completed the regular season with a 7-3-2record, good for second place in the Atlantic University Sport East Division and a spot in the playoffs. The regular season offered a number of highlight games including a 2-2 home draw with rival SMU, a 2-0 hoe win over StFX, a 4-1 win over UNB a 2-0 road win over Memorial and a 4-0 road win over UCCB. Striker Simon Richardson finished off the regular season in second place in league scoring with 11 goals. Jarreau Hayward and rookie Jonathan Merette also cracked the AUS top ten scoring list.
The second place finished in the East Division offered the Tigers a quarterfinal match up against UCC in the AUS Championship. Dalhousie defeated the Capers by a scored of 4-0 and proceeded to the conference final with a win over the UPEI Panthers in the semifinal game (2-1). Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to go the distance and lost in the championship final to Saint Mary’s (2-0) on their home turf.
The team was awarded a spot in the CIS Top Ten ranking list during the season, sliding in at number eight. Simon Richardson was named the CIS Athlete of the Week for his efforts in games against Mount Allison and UNB where he earned five goals. Rookie Jonathan Merette was named AUS Athlete of the Week for the first week of the season as he scored in both games n his first weekend in AUS competition. Simon Richardson has a repeat performance as Dalhousie’s Athlete of the Week and teammate Joel Grandy also was named Dalhousie Male Athlete of the Week in the second week of the season.
The season was capped off with four players earning spots on conference All-Star teams. Simon Richardson and Jorge Aguirre were AUS First Team All-Stars while Matt Johnson and Colin Duffy were Second Team All-Stars. Both Simon and Jorge were subsequently named CIS Second Team All-Canadians.
The Tiger squad formed a tight knit group early in the year which provided an excellent building block for team development. The team set their own rules and guidelines for off-field activities and set high standards for game play and training. The presence of only nine returning players on the team this year was certainly not reflective of the depth and maturity shown by all the players.
The talented returning players mixed with the quality of the incoming group made for a successful combination guided by exceptional leadership fro Captain Matt Johnson.