Five X-Men named AUS soccer all-stars

SMU's Colby Mercer named AUS Most Valuable Player

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2024 men's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.

Fourth-year Saint Mary's forward Colby Mercer has been named the 2024 AUS Men's Soccer Most Valuable Player, while Dalhousie striker Mohammed Tolba has earned 2024 AUS Men's Soccer Rookie of the Year honours.

This year's recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Awards is UNB's Harrison McGinn.

And for the second time, Memorial University head coach Jake Stanford has been named the AUS Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Colby Mercer, SMU Huskies

Saint Mary's forward Colby Mercer is the 2024 Atlantic University Sport Men's Soccer Most Valuable Player.

The fourth-year forward from Beaverbank, N.S. finished second in the AUS in points (10) and tied for second in goals scored (8) while suiting up in all 12 Huskies games this season. His team finished the regular season with a 7-5 record – good enough for third place in the AUS standings and a berth in the AUS Championship quarterfinals.

Mercer becomes the first Huskies player to win the league's MVP award since Derek Gaudet did so back in the 2012 season.

Along with being named MVP, Mercer also earned an AUS First Team All-Star nod. He earned Second Team honours last season.

Mercer will now represent the Atlantic conference as the league's nominee for the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as the U SPORTS Player of the Year. Atlantic conference nominees have taken home the honour in 2017, 2014, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1998 and 1996, with former STFX standout Dan Hayfield winning it most recently in 2017.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Mohammed Tolba, Dalhousie Tigers

Dalhousie Tigers striker Mohammed Tolba is the 2024 AUS Men's Soccer Rookie of the Year.

A Medical Science student from Stellarton, N.S., Tolba played in 11 of 12 games this season, scoring three goals and adding four assists.

With Tolba's help, the Tigers recorded a 6-4-2 record this season – good enough for fourth place in the AUS standings and a trip to the post-season.

Tolba's top rookie win is the first for a player from Dalhousie since Bezick Evraire earned the honour back in 2011.

He will now represent the AUS as the conference's nominee for the Lou Bilek Award for U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. The only Atlantic conference players to be honoured as the nation's top freshman are UNB's John Fish in 2004 and Dalhousie's Simon Richardson in 2001.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Harrison McGinn, UNB REDS

Harrison McGinn, a third-year midfielder with the UNB REDS, is the 2024 AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award recipient.

The Kinesiology student from Jewetts Mills, N.B., has stood out for his ability to balance school, sports and time helping out his community. He joins former REDS player Shea Nordheim (2014) as the only UNB student-athletes to win this award.

On the field, McGinn has played in 10 games this season, starting three of those. He helped his REDS to a 4-4-4 record this season – earning the final playoff berth.

He is in his second year representing the REDS men's soccer team on the UNB REDS Athletes Council, and organizes team events such as Think Pink – a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society.

McGinn's time away from school has been just as busy. He has been a coach with Fredericton District Soccer Association (FDSA) for the past four years, volunteering his time to coach players ranging from 10 years of age to 17 – often up to three days a week for eight months of the year.

He also volunteers as a hospital greeter and with various other community events throughout the year.

"Harrison is a great example of the level of involvement we should seek from our student athletes," said REDS head coach, Barry Morrison. "His is involved in our community in many ways, and his contributions to soccer in Fredericton continues to help our local soccer clubs thrive."

McGinn will now represent the Atlantic conference as the nominee for the national student-athlete community service award. Since the inception of the national award in 2005, AUS student-athletes have claimed the honour 11 times (in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2006). Dalhousie's Gracious Kasheke was the most recent Atlantic recipient in 2019.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Jake Stanford, Memorial University

Memorial University Sea-Hawks head coach Jake Stanford has been selected by his peers as the 2024 AUS Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.

This is second time Stanford has taken home the award, also winning it back in 2021. He joins Scott Betts (1997, 2004) as the only Memorial men's soccer coaches to have won the award.

After starting the season 3-4-1, Stanford's team rattled off four straight wins to end the regular season at 7-4-1, which earned them second place in the AUS standings and a bye to the championship semifinals.

Coach Stanford now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. Cape Breton Capers head coach Deano Morley is the most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to take home the national honour. He won in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018.

2024 AUS MEN'S SOCCER ALL-STARS

The AUS First and Second team all-stars were also announced today. They are as follows:

First Team All-Stars:

Keeper – Sinclair Astridge, Dalhousie (1^st year – Victoria, B.C.)
Defender – Luke Green, STFX (4^th year – Fall River, N.S.)
Defender – Jack Ellis, Dalhousie (4^th year – Liverpool, England)
Defender – Brent Hennebury, Memorial (4^th year – Lawn, NL)
Midfielder – Logan Rieck, STFX (4^th year – Cambridge, Ont.)
Midfielder – Scott Firth, Saint Mary's (3^rd year – Windsor Junction, N.S.)
Midfielder – Jacob Grant, Memorial (5^th year – St. John's, NL)
Midfielder – Mohammed Tolba, Dalhousie (1^st year – Stellarton, N.S.)
Striker – Colby Mercer, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Beaverbank, N.S.)
Striker – Luke Rosettani, UNB (4^th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker – Kyle Cordeiro, STFX (4^th year – Oakville, Ont.)           

Second Team All-Stars:

Keeper - Louis-Charles Vaillancourt, Memorial (5^th year – Sherbrooke, Que.)
Defender – Woody Bain, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Defender – Damian DeDekker, STFX (4^th year – Osgoode, Ont.)
Defender – Jabu Deng, Acadia (4^th year – Halifax, N.S.)
Defender – Riad Jaha, UPEI (4^th year – Charlottetown, P.E.I.)
Defender – Callum Corkum, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Camperdown, N.S.)
Midfielder – Isaac VanWychen, STFX (2^nd year – Middle Musquodoboit, N.S.)
Midfielder – Stefano D'Ambrogio, UNB (4^th year – Toronto, Ont.)
Midfielder – Max Piepgrass, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Calgary, Alta.)
Striker – Colin Connors, Memorial (4^th year – St. John's, NL)
Striker – Jonathan Kissé, Moncton (4^th year – Toronto, Ont.)

The 2024 AUS Men's Soccer Championships, presented by Bell will be hosted by UNB Oct. 24-27, in Fredericton, N.B.

The men's schedule can be found here.

Final AUS men's soccer standings can be found here.

All games of the championship will be available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

For more information on the national men's soccer championship, please visit the official website here.