A look back at the Dal Tigers fall season

After another round of fall sports, the Dalhousie University Tigers have a lot to celebrate and a lot to look forward to in the seasons to come. 

Men’s Soccer

The Dal men’s soccer team had a similar finish to last season, placing sixth in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) standings with a record of four wins, five losses, and three ties (4-5-3).  

The Tigers once again met the University of New Brunswick in the quarterfinals, where they were one goal short of the chance to move on. 

Consistency was an impressive feat for the Tigers, however, who had three inexperienced keepers to start the season. The net was shared by rookies Sinclair Astridge and Emmett Workman, playing eight and four games respectively. 

The first-year keepers managed to keep the team at an impressive 1.42 goals against average, exactly matching last season. 

This success came after Dal’s primary goalkeeper for the past two seasons and 2022 most valuable player, Aiden Rushenas, was signed by the Halifax Wanderers for the remainder of their 2023 season. 

Outside of the net, Dal’s top scorer was Kyle Routledge, who had four goals and one assist. The Tigers’ Luke Berryman also achieved high praise this season, winning the U Sports Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

For a look at this season’s women’s soccer team, check out this week’s article highlighting their season. 

Rowing

The Dal men’s and women’s rowing teams had a great season this year, with both teams winning the Atlantic University Rowing Championships in Lake Banook, N.S.

At the Canadian University Rowing Championship (CURC), hosted in Burnaby, BC, Dal rower Sophie Inkpen came second in the lightweight women’s single A-final by a margin of 3.018 seconds.  

Inkpen’s success marked the first time a school east of Montreal has ever medalled at the CURC.

Dal also made the A-final in the men’s single and women’s single. Rowers Jay Chevalier and Kate Kulig placed fourth and fifth in their finals, respectively.

Adding to Dal’s success, Ava Dlugolecki and Sophie Inkpen came first in the B-final in the lightweight women’s double. 

Sailing

The Dal sailing team was once again the top team in the Atlantic region this season, placing second at Keelboat Nationals and Team Race Nationals. The team competed in the CanAm Cup and University of Toronto Invitational as well, placing fourth in both. 

The Tigers hosted Fleet Nationals this season at the Waegwoltic Club from Nov. 17-Nov. 19 after having to cancel a regatta earlier in the season due to Hurricane Lee. Dal was sitting second in the Canadian Intercollegiate Sailing Association (CICSA) overall standings, 0.9 points back of Queen’s University, going into Fleet Nationals.

Dal was in first after days one and two of the regatta, but the Tigers slipped on the final day, landing themselves in second place, seven points back of McGill University.  

King’s Soccer

Across the Dal campus, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams from the University of King’s College made it through to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s national championships this year. 

The women’s team visited their familiar competitor Holland College in Summerside, P.E.I., after coming second to Holland in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) final, losing the close game 1-0. 

The team had a 1-3 record at nationals, losing to Seneca College, Holland College and Douglas College but pulling out a win against the Brandon University Bobcats in their second game of the tournament, and ended up placing sixth overall. 

Faye Little, Kennedy MacKill and Simona Busillo each won a player of the match award for King’s, with MacKill winning two, and Blue Devil Iriana Theoharopoulos was named a Championship All-Star.

The men’s team travelled to Windsor, Ont., to play at St.Clair College after winning the ACAA Championship against Mount Saint Vincent University in penalty kicks. The men’s team lost all three of their games against Collège Ahuntsic, Vancouver Island University and Brandon University, but Blue Devils Michael Zinck and Luke Kotaska each received awards as an All-Canadian and Championship All-Star respectively.