Men's Soccer

Men's soccer season recap

Posted: Apr 18, 2024

Written by Thomas Scott

Going undefeated in the final five games, the Dalhousie Tigers clinched a playoff berth dramatically. However, the Tigers would again fall to the UNB Reds for the second playoffs in a row.

“It's just going to add fuel to the fire,” says captain Luke Berryman about the quarter-final loss to UNB.

The Tigers lost 3-2 in the AUS quarter-final after finishing the season with a 4-5-3 record.

Beginning the season 0-2 after two games at Memorial was not the start the Tigers had hoped for. The Tigers could not find the back of the net in the opener but scored twice in the second game. The team fell short, however, losing 3-2.

The Tigers woes continued, and did not find its first victory until the eighth game of the season. At this point, the Tigers began to mesh as a team, and got on a roll. Defender Wilfreid Kindo described the turnaround as “magical.”

The first win would come at home against the Reds. Michael Trim and Ben Hashimoto scored a goal each, securing a 2-1 victory.

The Tigers then headed to Saint Mary’s University to take on the Huskies. Once again, the Tigers won 2-1, with the Tigers leading scorer Kyle Routledge scoring the game-winner.

Securing a 1-0 victory at Moncton and drawing the Acadia Axemen at home, the season was on the line when the Tigers headed to UPEI to play the Panthers.

Ben Thompson stepped up to the plate as the first-year scored his first goal for the Tigers, clinching a playoff spot. The Tigers had gone undefeated in the final five games of the season.

“I think those last six games prove that the more together you are off the pitch and the more you prove to each other in training that you have one another's backs, the better you're going to perform when the matches come around,” says Berryman about the undefeated run and losing in the quarter-final.

Despite heartbreak at the end of the season, it is a season the Tigers can look at fondly and continue to build for the future. The Tigers will be without Michael Trim, Ben Bruce, Suliman Elomrani Calvin Butler and Chris Pike next season, as they cross the convocation stage this year.

“I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to be around,” says Berryman.

Berryman received the AUS and U SPORTS student-athlete community service awards. The third-year art major’s community work involves starting a project through his local YMCA to reduce barriers and make soccer more accessible to new Canadians and African Nova Scotians. His initiative allowed the striker to acquire grants for over 100 children to register and play club soccer this past summer.

Routledge took home second-team AUS all-star honours. The third-year kinesiology major scored four goals and one assist in the 2023 campaign. He was named the Tigers team MVP for his efforts and Berryman was named the Tiger of the Year. Routledge, Connor Manuel, Jack Ellis, and Riley Workman all earned their three year D this season.