CORNWALL, P.E.I. – The Holland College Hurricanes start their quest for a national men’s soccer championship today on home turf.
The Hurricanes are hosting the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship at the Terry Fox Sports Complex in Cornwall with the medal games set for Saturday.
The theme of this year’s championship is Saluting Our Veterans.
“We are pleased to pay tribute to the service and sacrifice made by our veterans to ensure we enjoy the freedom to compete and participate in sport in Canada,” said Holland College’s director of athletics and recreation Albert Roche.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. In 1918, in the 11th month on the 11th day in the 11th hour, the fighting stopped.
The Hurricanes have extended an invitation to all veterans, Royal Canadian Legion members and Department of Veterans Affairs staff to attend the championship as guests of the Hurricanes by simply displaying their identification at the main entrance to the field.
“Soccer nationals is always conducted during the week where Remembrance Day falls, and it was natural for us to salute the sacrifice made by veterans and their families, especially at the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One,” Roche said.
The championship, which will feature the top eight collegiate men’s soccer teams from across Canada. Joining the host Hurricanes are: the Ahuntsic Indiens (Montreal), Capilano Blues (North Vancouver, B.C.), Humber Hawks (Toronto), Langara Falcons (Vancouver), NAIT Ooks (Edmonton), Sheridan Bruins (Oakville, Ont.) and the St. Thomas Tommies (Fredericton, N.B.).
RELATED: Click here for the matchups.
The Hurricanes finished the regular season with a record of 9-2-1 and in first place in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association. They defeated the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics and St. Thomas Tommies to win their fifth-straight Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
The Hurricanes took home the bronze medal from last year’s nationals in Nanaimo, B.C. It is the second national medal in team history.
The Hurricanes play their first game of the championship today at 3 p.m. against the Ahuntsic Indiens.
