2016 AUS Women's Soccer Major Award Winners and All-Stars Announced
Memorial’s Jessie Noseworthy named AUS MVP for 2016 season
(SYDNEY, N.S.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2016 women's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.
Fourth-year Memorial Sea-Hawks striker Jessie Noseworthy was named the AUS most valuable player at Thursday's awards luncheon, hosted at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre in Membertou, N.S. by Cape Breton University.
Other AUS major award winners announced were Memorial's Nicole Torraville of St. John's, N.L., who was named the rookie of the year; Dalhousie's Scarlett Smith of Wolfville, N.S., who received the student-athlete community service award; and Memorial Sea-Hawks head coach Mike Power, who was selected as the coach of the year for the first time in his career.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jessie Noseworthy, Memorial University
Jessie Noseworthy, a fourth-year striker with the Memorial Sea-Hawks, is the 2016 AUS women's soccer most valuable player.
The nursing student from St. John's, N.L. led the country in points this season with 23.
She led the Atlantic conference and tied for first in the nation in goals with 14. She was first in the AUS and third in U Sports in assists with nine.
In her fourth year of eligibility, Noseworthy has accumulated 35 career regular season goals.
She was also named an AUS first team all-star Thursday for the third consecutive year. She was named a second team AUS all-star in her freshman season in 2013.
In 2014, Noseworthy was named a CIS (now U Sports) second team all-Canadian.
Acknowledged for her commitment both on and off the field, she was also awarded both the AUS and CIS student-athlete community service awards last season.
"Having already been established as an outstanding performer in the AUS, it was really impressive to watch Jessie take her game to new heights in 2016," said Sea-Hawks head coach Mike Power. "She has worked very hard to add more dimensions and versatility to her game, while continuing to bring great maturity and leadership to our program. Being named the MVP in such a talent-rich league is another tremendous achievement in Jessie's varsity career."
Noseworthy is just the second player from a Sea-Hawks squad to be named the conference's most valuable player, and the first since former Memorial standout Laura Breen earned the honour in 2008.
Only two Atlantic conference athletes have taken home the Chantal Navert Memorial Award as CIS player of the year. UPEI's Amy Connolly won it in 2005 and Cape Breton's Sarah Drake was the 2002 recipient.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Nicole Torraville, Memorial University
Nicole Torraville of the Memorial Sea-Hawks has been chosen by the coaches as the 2016 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.
A physical education student from St. John's, N.L., Torraville started in all 12 regular season games in her freshman season.
The midfielder led all AUS first-year players in scoring with seven goals, including two game winners. She added three assists for 10 points on the season.
"We are delighted with the impact that Nicole has had in her first season as a Sea-Hawk," said Memorial head coach Mike Power. "She's added another offensive threat to our lineup, and has competed extremely well against some top AUS talents without a sign of being unseasoned. Her overall talent is unmistakable, but she is also quite composed and wise, which really adds to her success."
Torraville becomes the fourth freshman from a Sea-Hawks squad to take home AUS rookie of the year honours. Previous Memorial winners have included Sea-Hawks standouts Emily Bailey (2014), Laura Breen (2004) and Fiona Curtis (1996).
Torraville will now represent the Atlantic conference as the AUS nominee for the national rookie of the year award.
The only AUS players to be named the CIS (now U Sports) women's soccer rookie of the year are Cape Breton's Michelle Desjardins in 2000 and Dalhousie's Mary-Beth Bowie in 1997.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Scarlett Smith, Dalhousie
Fourth-year striker Scarlett Smith of the Dalhousie Tigers is the 2016 student-athlete community service award recipient.
This is the first time a member of the Dalhousie squad has earned the honour since the award's inception in 2006.
Smith is an exemplary student-athlete, balancing athletics, academics and extensive community involvement. The nursing student excels in the classroom, having achieved academic all-Canadian status for both the fall and winter semesters last season. With a current GPA of 3.86 and a cumulative GPA of 3.56, she is a four-year recipient of the Lockward Memorial Scholarship—awarded to a Dalhousie nursing student for excellence in the classroom and contributions to their community.
Smith's involvement in the community is extensive. She is the coordinator for A Tiger's Christmas—collecting donations from Dalhousie varsity athletes to purchase gifts for children admitted to the IWK children's hospital over the holidays. She intends to hand-deliver these gifts on Christmas Eve.
Smith volunteers weekly with the Centre for Pediatric Pain research lab at the IWK—facilitating surveys and data input, as well as with the Frontier College Syrian Program—tutoring newcomer Syrian children in math and English.
She was recently selected by the former executive committee to fill the role of campus president for SAMHI—the Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative—which works to eliminate the negative stigma around mental health and provide resources to athletes and coaches.
Among the many other community initiatives Smith volunteers her time with are the Best Buddies program (which aids adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities or autism), Dalhousie's Right to Play society (which uses sport and play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities) and Dalhousie's Special Tigers program (which works with Special Olympics to engage children with special needs in sporting activities).
She also volunteers with the Get Real initiative, the Ronald McDonald House Home for Dinner program, Textbooks for Change, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk and Cuts for Cancer.
"We are so pleased to have Scarlett recognized in this way," said Tigers head coach Cindy Tye. "She is an exemplary student-athlete who not only finds the time to balance top academics and varsity athletics, her commitment to bettering her community is impressive to say the least. She leads by example and gets others involved and is a terrific representative of the Tigers program. Wherever Scarlett ends up, she will be sure to have a positive impact!"
Smith is now the AUS nominee for the national student-athlete community service award.
An Atlantic conference student-athlete has received the national honour for the past two seasons. 2016 AUS MVP Jessie Noseworthy from the Memorial Sea-Hawks won the national award last season and Acadia's Caoimhe MacParland won in 2014.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Power, Memorial University
Memorial Sea-Hawks head coach Mike Power has been chosen by his peers as the 2016 AUS coach of the year.
This marks the first time coach Power has been selected as the conference's top coach since he took over the team's leadership last season.
This year, he guided the Sea-Hawks to a 10-1-1 regular season record and second place in the AUS standings. They secured not only a spot in this year's championship, but a first-round bye to Friday's semifinals.
Power's squad led the country in goals per game with an average of 4.25. They allowed an average of just 0.75 goals against per game.
His career AUS coaching record, including regular and postseason games, sits at 20-3-4 heading into the 2016 championship.
"Mike has provided excellent leadership on and off the field for our women's soccer program," said Memorial athletic director Dr. Karen Murphy. "His commitment to excellence and passion for the game are undeniable and have enabled our student-athletes to achieve in their sport and in the classroom. To be recognized by your peers is a special acknowledgement and it is a reflection of Mike's abilities. Mike has been a wonderful ambassador for Memorial and I congratulate him for this honour."
In addition to his duties with the Sea-Hawks, Mike also works for the Newfoundland & Labrador Soccer Association as the director of player development. In his role with NLSA, Mike has almost a decade of experience coaching provincial all-star teams, Canada Games teams, Team Atlantic and in the Canadian youth national teams program.
Power now becomes the AUS nominee for the national coach of the year award.
The most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to be awarded the national honour was Cape Breton's Ness Timmons in 2012.
FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
The AUS first and second team all-stars were also announced Thursday. They are as follows:
First Team AUS All-Stars
Keeper - Tessa Ritchie, Mount Allison (4th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Defender - Emily Nickerson, Acadia (4th year – Coldbrook, N.S.)
Defender - Robyn Novorolsky, Cape Breton (4th year – Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Defender - Hayley Gates, UNB (5th year – Bridgewater, N.S.)
Midfielder - Alyssa Armstrong, Cape Breton (4th year, St. John's, N.L.)
Midfielder - Hannah Rivkin, Memorial (5th year – St. John's, N.L.)
Midfielder - Mercy Myles, StFX (1st year – Accra, Ghana)
Midfielder - Michelle Pryde, Acadia (5th year – Calgary, Alta.)
Striker - Jessie Noseworthy, Memorial (4th year – St. John's, N.L.)
Striker - Kinsella Noseworthy-Smith, Acadia (5th year – Wolfville, N.S.)
Striker - Chelsea Currie, Cape Breton (5th year – Sydney, N.S.)
Second Team AUS All-Stars
Keeper - Sami Jo Bell, UNB (5th year – East Dover, N.S.)
Defender - Keisha Younge, Memorial (3rd year – Mount Pearl, N.L.)
Defender - Amanda Bowles, Dalhousie (4th year – Burlington, Ont.)
Defender - Laura McNicholas, UNB (5th year – Doncaster, United Kingdom)
Defender - Candace Conrad, Acadia (4th year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Midfield - Tamara Brown, Cape Breton (4th year – Whitby, Ont.)
Midfield - Alix Bruch, StFX (5th year – Calgary, Alta.)
Midfield - Lauren Cubbon, UNB (4th year – Saskatoon, Sask.)
Striker - Jane Pope, Memorial (4th year – St. John's, N.L.)
Striker - Alexandra Maltais, Moncton (4th year – Dieppe, N.B.)
Striker - Chloe Brennan, StFX (3rd year – Brookside, N.S.)
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The 2016 Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championship will be hosted by Cape Breton University at CBU Field in Sydney, N.S. Nov. 3 to 6, 2016.
The championship schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 3
Quarterfinal #1: Dalhousie (6th) vs. Acadia (3rd), 5 p.m.
Quarterfinal #2: UNB (5th) vs. StFX (4th), 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 4
Semifinal #1: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Cape Breton (1st), 5 p.m.
Semifinal #2: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Memorial (2nd), 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 6
Championship Game: Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner, 2 p.m.
*Note: All games of the championship will be broadcast live on Bell Aliant Fibe TV on channels 1 and 401, and available via webcast, live at www.AUStv.ca.
Final AUS women's soccer standings:
http://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wsoc/2016-17/standings
The Atlantic University Sport conference receives two berths at the 2016 national women's soccer championship being hosted by Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. Nov. 10-13, 2016
The berths will go to the AUS championship winner and the host Acadia Axewomen. Should the Axewomen win the AUS championship, the second Atlantic conference berth will be awarded to the AUS runner up.
For more information on the national women's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: http://en.cis-sic.ca/championships/wsoc/index.
For tickets and scheduling information, please visit the Acadia Athletics event page at http://www.acadiaathletics.ca/events/cis_soccer_championship.