Tommies Men’s Soccer to Rely on Young, Skilled Lineup in 2016-17

The St. Thomas University Tommies men's soccer team will rely on a younger, faster, and more skilled lineup this season as they work toward another appearance in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association final.

The Tommies—who finished second in the ACAA last season—welcomed 10 rookies to this year's team, but head coach John-Ryan Morrison is happy with the skill and experience they add to the roster.

"We've got Kyle Yearwood who played on the U20 Barbados national team, Alex Soulet, from New York, who offers a lot of creativity in the middle, and FDSA U18 products John Hunter, Dylan Breau, and Kieran Foord who will be counted on for big minutes," he said.

"Matthew McCarthy and Avery Stokes LeBlanc are two other New Brunswick provincial team players we brought in, plus Morgan MacDonald from Cape Breton, so we're happy with our recruiting class."

With such a young team, Morrison is looking to build a strong foundation early in the season.

"We only have six players returning from last year's squad, so this was always going to be a rebuilding year. The rookies have had a pretty steep learning curve to the demands of university soccer," Morrison said.

The Tommies plan to change their style of play to adjust to the makeup of this year's roster, which includes younger, faster, and more skilled players. With the added technical skill, Morrison believes the team will find success as long as they follow the game plan.

"We're going to change our style of play from last year as we adjust to the makeup of this year's roster. We are younger, faster, and more skilled but we might not be as physically dominant as we were last year."

Morrison believes this year's Tommies have more technical skill and if they can follow the game plan will find success.

"We're going to try and keep the ball as long as possible and maintain possession throughout the game," he said. "I don't see any obstacles that will keep us from reaching our goal as long as we stay healthy."

Despite it being a rebuilding year, the ultimate goal for the Tommies is to be in a rematch of last year's final against the Holland College Hurricanes come playoff time. With hard work, commitment, and buy-in Morrison is confident the team will get there.

"My goal this season is to build a squad with a strong team-first attitude—a team who wants to really fight for each other and help them reach their goals. We've already had a lot of learning opportunities, so hopefully that will make us a stronger group going forward," he said.

"My expectation is always for the guys to work as hard as they possibly can every time we're on the field. As long as they do that, the results will come our way."