Crichton, Steen and Bower earn AUS all-star recognition

Cape Breton's Alliyah Rowe named AUS MVP for third consecutive season

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

Cape Breton striker Alliyah Rowe of Kitchener, Ontario has been named the AUS Most Valuable Player for the third straight year.

UNB's Evana Eyubeh of Mississauga, Ont., is this season's AUS Rookie of the Year, while Memorial's Claire Langille of Fall River, N.S., is the recipient of the 2024 AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

And on the 10^th anniversary of his first AUS Women's Soccer Coach of the Year award, UNB's Jonathan Crossland has earned his second, as chosen by his peers.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Alliyah Rowe, Cape Breton CAPERS

Alliyah Rowe, a fifth-year striker from the Cape Breton Capers, has been named the Atlantic University Sport Women's Soccer Most Valuable Player for the third straight season.

The feat matches former Caper, Ciera Disipio, who also won the award three times in a row (2017, 2018, 2019).

An Arts student from Kitchener, Ont., Rowe led the Capers to a 10-0-2 record in the regular season to finish first in the AUS standings and earn a bye into the championship semifinals.

Once again, Rowe led the AUS in goals scored, netting an impressive 21 in 12 games played to finish her post-secondary career with 77 goals – the most ever by any male or female to have played in the AUS.

In addition to being named the conference's top player, Rowe was also named an AUS First-Team All-Star for the fifth time in her career. She is a three-time U SPORTS first team All-Canadian—having earned the honour in 2023, 2022 and 2019. In her inaugural 2019 season with the Capers, she was also named both the AUS and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year.

She will now represent the Atlantic conference as the league's nominee for the Chantal Navert Memorial Award as the U SPORTS Player of the Year. Only two Atlantic conference nominees have won the national award, UPEI's Amy Connolly in 2005 and Cape Breton's Sarah Drake in 2002.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Evana Eyubeh, UNB REDS

A first-year fullback with the UNB REDS, Evana Eyubeh has been named the 2024 AUS Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year.

Eyubeh, a Science student from Mississauga, Ont., becomes the first REDS player to win the award since Andrea Maston did so back in 2001.

The rookie fullback started all 12 games this season, helping UNB to a 9-2-1 record which placed them second in the AUS standings and earned them a first-round bye in the championship playoffs that start on Thursday.

In addition to being named the AUS's Top Rookie, Eyubeh was also named an AUS First Team All-Star.

She will now represent the AUS as the conference's nominee for the U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. The most recent Atlantic conference players to take home the national award are Cape Breton's Alliyah Rowe in 2019 and Erin Freeman in 2018.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Claire Langille, Memorial Sea-Hawks

The Memorial Sea-Hawks' Claire Langille has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service award. This marks the third consecutive season a player from the Sea-Hawks has won this award.

A fourth-year Science student from Fall River, N.S., Langille led the AUS in assists this season, recording nine in 12 games played.

As a player, her resume has been impressive. She is a three-time AUS All-Star (2021, 2022, 2023) and was named to the 2021 U SPORTS All-Rookie Team.

Off the pitch, Langille has been even more remarkable.

The four-time Academic All-Canadian recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, but still found time to take care of her community.

She currently volunteers at the Canadian Courage Project acting as the communications coordinator for the non-profit that support youth facing homelessness, as well as at the Canadian Red Cross delivering meals weekly to participants of the Meals on Wheels program.

She also gives her time as a coordinator to Science Rendezvous – an event aimed at education children about possible careers in science, technology, education and mathematics (STEM), and as a coach with the Paradise Soccer Club U17 team.

The list does not end there, as Langille has also given graciously of her time to: Special Olympics, the Memorial University Athletic Department and the Memorial University Biochemistry Society, NS Health COVID-19 Rapid Testing Sites, and the WISE Undergraduate Society – a society dedicated to supporting future female engineers and scientists.

"Although her volunteer initiatives and school transcript are impressive, and her athletic abilities are admirable, Claire's standout shining quality is her ability to radiate positivity," said Memorial head coach, Mike Power. "Her default setting to think about others, and she has a consistent uplifting influence on those around her. She's a terrific player, a brilliant student, and a selfless leader in our community."

Langille now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS Student-Athlete Community Service Award. The last AUS nominee to take home the national honour was Langille's former Sea-Hawks teammate Kate Hickey who earned the U SPORTS in 2022.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Jonathan Crossland, UNB REDS

UNB REDS head coach Jonathan Crossland has been selected by his peers as the 2024 AUS Women's Soccer Coach of the Year. The win comes on the 10^th anniversary of his first Coach of the Year win back in 2014.

In his thirteenth season on the sidelines, Crossland led his REDS to a 9-2-1 record this season after going just 2-6-4 in 2023. The mark placed them second in the AUS standings at the end of the regular season and earned them a bye into the semifinals of the championship being hosted this weekend by the STFX X-Women.

After losing their first game of the season back on Aug. 30, Crossland's team won seven straight games to clinch a playoff spot early. As a team, the REDS allowed just nine goals against which was tied for first in the AUS with Memorial.

Crossland now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS Coach of the Year Award. STFX head coach Graham Kennedy is the most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to earn the national honour, winning it just last season.

2024 AUS WOMEN'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 – Leana Claude, Memorial (1^st year – Grenchen, SUI)
Defender – Mya Harnish, Acadia (5^th year – Lower Sackville, N.S.)
Defender – Evana Eyubeh, UNB (1^st year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Defender – Aurora Hughes-Goyette, UNB (4^th year – Garibaldi Highlands, B.C.)
Midfielder – Carolina Grzesniak, UNB (4^th year – Oshawa, Ont.)
Midfielder – Caitlin Crichton, STFX (4^th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Midfielder – Ally Wilton, Cape Breton (4^th year – Bedford, N.S.)
Striker – Alliyah Rowe, Cape Breton (5^th year – Kitchener, Ont.)
Striker – Zoë Rowe, Memorial (4^th year – Conception Bay South, NL)
Striker – Elise Evans, Dalhousie (3^rd year – Toronto, Ont.)
Striker – Cara Freeman, Saint Mary's (2^nd year – Halifax, N.S.)       

Second Team All-Stars

Keeper - Ellie Lancaster, Cape Breton (2^nd year – Fall River, N.S.)
Defender – Leah Adams, Acadia (4^th year – Truro, N.S.)
Defender – Emma Steen, STFX (4^th year – Stittsville, Ont.)
Defender – Hannah Firstbrook, Dalhousie (4^th year – Nepean, Ont.)
Defender – Julia Dalley, UNB (3^rd year – Burlington, Ont.)
Midfielder – Cheyenne Bower, STFX (2^nd year – London, Ont.)
Midfielder – Jen Milligan, Memorial (4^th year – Strathroy, Ont.)
Midfielder – Olivia Jack, Dalhousie (3^rd year – Stillwater Lake, N.S.)
Midfielder – Grace Hannaford, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Enfield, N.S.)
Striker – Abbey Aucoin, Acadia (3^rd year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Striker – Alli Kelly, Acadia (4^th year – Halifax, N.S.)

The 2024 AUS Soccer Championships presented by Bell are being hosted by STFX in Antigonish, N.S. Oct. 24-27.    

The women's schedule can be found here.

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

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

For more information on the national women's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: https://usports.ca/en/championships/soccer/f.