Young Tommies Lead Improved Offense: 2022 Season Review
After a season where the St. Thomas University Tommies struggled to score, head coach Michelle DeCourcey knew what she had to improve over the offseason - offense. The 2021-22 Tommies scored just twice all season. Fast forward a year later, and the Tommies had upped those two goals to 20, third in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association. STU finished with a 5-6-1 record, fourth in the ACAA. The Tommies would meet the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics in the opening round of the ACAA Championships, falling to the eventual champions 3-1.
Tommies' head coach Michelle DeCourcey said overall, it was a good season. But the Tommies lacked consistency.
"We performed well in many of our games, and great in some, but lacked consistency in our efforts, which led us to fall short on a number of occasions," she said. "Overall, it was a positive season, which included some great performances from both veteran and rookie players."
Led by a strong rookie class in ACAA Rookie of the Year Jayci Peck (Woodstock, NB), Rachel Haanstra (Fredericton, NB) and Carolyne Roy (Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska, NB), the three rookies combined for 13 goals. Peck led the team with six, Haanstra scored four while Roy scored three times. Second-year Cierra Meredith (Bowmanville, ON) also contributed with four goals.
"Jayci’s pace alone makes her a dangerous attacker," DeCourcey said. "She knows how to get out in front of defenders and find herself in scoring positions. She did very well in her first season as a Tommie, ranking among the top scorers in the league, and I expect she’ll continue to have success as she works to hone some other parts of her game."
The Tommies also has their co-captain, Kaleigh Roberts (Moncton, NB) on the ACAA All-Conference team, while Erin Smal (Fredericton, NB) made the Second-Team.
DeCourcey gave credit to many of the team's off-season additions for their upped scoring.
"We added multiple attacking players with the ability to finish and a whole lot of speed up top and on our wings. Being able to work with a combination of dangerous strikers, including Jayci Peck, Rachel Haanstra, Carolyn Roy and Laura Horsley gave us the ability to spice things up on the attack and swap players with different strengths in and out. Being able to attack on the flanks at speed with players like Erin Smal let us play numerous balls into the 18-yard box per game gave. This provided scoring opportunities that we just didn't have last year."
On the defensive side of the pitch, The Tommies were led by their usual leaders. Kaleigh Roberts (Moncton, NB) and Jessica McWilliams (Tracadie, NB) finished their Tommies careers, while Abby Cameron (Fredericton, NB) had another strong season after recovering from multiple injuries.
Ultimately, the Tommies came up short in the ACAA playoffs, losing to the Mystics. DeCourcey said having the chance to compete at home was special.
"Having the opportunity to vie for a championship is always exciting but getting to do it on home turf is extra special," she said. "STU hosted a top-notch event, and it was a treat to get to compete in front of our home fans. We had an extremely rough start to our semi-final, going down two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. We were unable to recover, despite making things 1-2 before the half. I was obviously upset with the outcome and for our season to come to an end, but proud of how the team battled back from this tough start and didn’t give up."