Elbourne named AUS rookie of the year, Four soccer X-Men named AUS all-stars

2014 AUS men's soccer major award winners and all-stars announced
Cape Breton's Maheu named AUS MVP

Oct. 30, 2014 (ST. JOHN'S, NFLD.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2014 men's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.

Second-year Cape Breton Capers striker Justin Maheu was named the AUS most valuable player at Thursday night's championship banquet.

Other AUS major award winners announced during the championship banquet hosted by Memorial University in St. John's, Nfld. were St. Francis Xavier's Liam Elbourne of Halifax, N.S., who was named rookie of the year; the University of New Brunswick's Shea Nordheim of Winnipeg, Man., who received the student-athlete community service award; and Cape Breton head coach Dean Morley who took home the AUS coach of the year award in his first year as head coach of the Capers.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Justin Maheu, Cape Breton

Justin Maheu, a second-year striker with the CIS No. 9-ranked Cape Breton Capers has been named the Atlantic University Sport men's soccer most valuable player.

Maheu, who led the league and was second in the country in goals this season with 15, was also honoured Thursday as an AUS first team all-star.

The striker from Ottawa, Ont. posted three hat tricks this season and scored four game-winning goals for the Capers. He led the Atlantic conference in shots with 53 and was second in shots on goal with 29.

In addition to his athletic prowess, Maheu also excels in the classroom. He was named an academic all-Canadian following his first season with the Capers.

"Justin is a pleasure to work with on the training ground," said Capers head coach Dean Morley. "He is a competitive athlete and the drive, passion and determination that he has demonstrated during game time can be found Monday to Friday during practice. His continuous movement and willingness to exploit defences in behind, combined with his pace and strength, make him a handful for any defender. The work he has put in during the off-season and his desire to continually want to improve make him a great man to work with."

This is the sixth time a Cape Breton player has been honoured with the AUS most valuable player award.

Maheu will now represent the Atlantic conference as the league's nominee for the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as the CIS player of the year.

UPEI's Ryan Anstey (2005) and SMU's Mesut Mert (2003 and 2001) are the most recent Atlantic University Sport players to win the national award.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Liam Elbourne, StFX 

St. Francis Xavier University's Liam Elbourne has been chosen by the coaches as the 2014 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.

A 5-foot-8 midfielder from Halifax, N.S., Elbourne played in 12 of the StFX X-Men's 13 regular season games this year and started in nine of them.

In those 12 games, he scored four goals and posted an assist. He was credited with 17 shots and eight shots on goal this season.

"Liam is a great freshman student-athlete because he's an excellent student and an excellent soccer player," said StFX head coach Graham Kennedy. "Liam is always polished and professional in his approach to the game. He's a young man who works on this game every day and it's not uncommon to see him on the pitch training on his own before class in the morning. He leads by example, he's positive and he's got a great CIS future in front of him."

Elbourne is the sixth StFX player to be named AUS rookie of the year, and the first since X-Men standout Max Maund took home the honour in 2009. The award also went to StFX rookies in 2007, 2002, 1996 and 1993.

Elbourne now becomes the AUS nominee for the Lou Bilek Award for CIS rookie of the year.

UNB's John Fish was the last AUS men's soccer player to earn CIS rookie of the year honours. He took home the national award in 2004. Dalhousie's Simon Richardson is the only other Atlantic University Sport player to be named CIS rookie of the year. He earned the title in 2001.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Shea Nordheim, UNB

Shea Nordheim, a midfielder in his fifth year of eligibility with the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds, is the 2014 AUS student-athlete community service award recipient.

The Winnipeg, Man. native had a great year on the soccer pitch for the V-Reds, playing in all 13 regular season games and posting eight goals and an assist.

His eight-goal tally tied him for third in the Atlantic conference. He also posted the second highest number of game-winning goals this season with four.

In the classroom, Nordheim boasts an impressive 3.8 GPA. He is currently completing a bachelor of education at UNB.

In his community, Nordheim serves as president of UNB's Right to Play chapter. This year, he was one of the successful Canadian candidates selected to attend the global Right to Play summit.

Right to Play describes themselves as "a global organization made up of inspirational coaches, athlete ambassadors, staff, supporters and a million playful children [who] use play to engage kids in their education, to teach them health lessons and to show them how to build peaceful communities."

Nordheim was responsible for organizing UNB's very first Right to Play chapter in 2011. This fall, he organized a world record setting game of Capture the Flag as part of a national Right to Play promotion called Quest for Kids.

He has personally raised over $5,000 for the cause.

In addition to his work with Right to Play, Nordheim has spear-headed fundraising initiatives for cystic fibrosis research through the Great Strides walk in Winnipeg and Shinerama at UNB. His efforts have raised over $7,000 for the cause.

He has also served as a student rep for the UNB Kinesiology Society, volunteered at local elementary schools through the Read with the Reds program and been a part of the Varsity Reds' Think Pink initiatives which raise money for breast cancer research.

During the past two summers, Nordheim has worked as a youth mentor within the Aspire program, which aims to enhance basic literacy and numeracy skills in students in the fifth grade and lower who may be encountering learning challenges.

Furthermore, he has served as a volunteer youth soccer coach for Glenlawn Collegiate and the FC Northwest soccer club, both in Winnipeg, as well as for Varsity Reds youth soccer programs.

"Shea Nordheim is the perfect example of what every student-athlete should strive to be," said Varsity Reds head coach Miles Pinsent. "He is a dedicated athlete who has had to overcome reconstructive knee surgery. He is a committed student who has been named to the dean's list as well as an academic all-Canadian for each year that he has been a university student. On top of his busy student-athlete schedule, Shea has sought out opportunities to volunteer within the local community and to become a leader on the UNB campus."

Nordheim becomes the very first UNB recipient of the men's soccer student-athlete community service award. He will now represent the Atlantic conference as the nominee for the CIS student-athlete community service award.

Since the inception of the national award in 2005, AUS student-athletes have claimed the honour seven times (in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2006). Dalhousie's Nathan Rogers was the most recent recipient of the CIS honour, earning it in 2013.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Dean Morley, Cape Breton

Head coach Dean Morley of the CIS No. 9-ranked Cape Breton Capers has been selected by his peers as the 2014 AUS men's soccer coach of the year.

Earning the award in his very first season at the helm of the Capers program, Morley led his squad to an 8-4-1 regular season record and second place in the AUS standings.

Prior to taking over as head coach this season, Morley served as lead assistant coach to the team for a decade and played an important role in helping those Capers teams capture three AUS titles (2007, 2009, 2012) and CIS bronze (2011) and silver (2012) at the national men's soccer championship.

Morley's extensive history with the Capers also dates back his playing days when he was named an AUS first team all-star as a student-athlete.

This season, Morley's Capers squad led the conference in goals with 35 and in shots with 211. They allowed the third fewest goals against with just 14 in 13 regular season games.

"We are very pleased to see Dean recognized as AUS coach of the year," said Cape Breton director of athletics John Ryan. "It is a compliment to his work ethic and effort to be recognized by his peers in his first season. Dean's teams come to compete every game and he has worked hard to earn the respect of the student-athletes and his peers across the CIS with his team-first mentality."

Morley now becomes the AUS nominee for CIS coach of the year. UNB's Miles Pinsent is the most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to earn the honour. He was named CIS coach of the year in 2012.

Other CIS wins by AUS coaches in recent years include StFX's Graham Kennedy in 2010 and Dalhousie's Pat Nearing in 2008.

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS

The AUS first and second team all-stars were also announced Thursday. They are as follows:

First Team All-Stars:

Striker – Justin Maheu, Cape Breton (2^nd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker – Marcus Lees, UNB (2^nd year – Barrie, Ont.)
Striker – Bezick Evraire, Dalhousie (4^th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker – Randy Ribeiro, StFX (4^th year – Cambridge, Ont.)
Midfielder – Diego Padilha, UNB (2^nd year – Maceió, Brazil)
Midfielder – Sandro Rajkovic, Cape Breton (4^th year – Hamilton, Ont.)
Midfielder – Ian Greedy, Cape Breton (5^th year – Lower Sackville, N.S.)
Defender – Andrew Snyder, Acadia (3^rd year – Bridgewater, N.S.)
Defender – Cole MacMillan, UPEI (4^th year – Stanhope, P.E.I.)
Defender – Steven Miller, UNB (4^th year – London, Ont.)
Keeper – Sam Hutchison, StFX (4^th year – Victoria, B.C.)

Second Team All-Stars:

Striker – Jared Murphy, UPEI (5^th year – Winsloe, P.E.I.)
Striker – Oliver Jones, UNB (3^rd year – London, England)
Midfielder – Graeme Hodgkinson, StFX (5^th year – Calgary, Alta.)
Midfielder – Antonie Godin, Moncton (4^th year – Dieppe, N.B.)
Midfielder – Adam Lowther, UPEI (5^th year – Cavendish, P.E.I.)
Midfielder – Cochrane Noseworthy-Smith, Acadia (4^th year – Wolfville, N.S.)
Defender – Matthew Hamlyn, Memorial (5^th year – St. John's Nfld.)
Defender – Ryan Ashlee, StFX (4^th year, Victoria, B.C.)
Defender – Jonathan Doucett, Dalhousie (2^nd year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Defender – Zak Riley, Cape Breton (2^nd year – Liverpool, England)
Keeper – Aaron McMurrary, UNB (5^th year – London, Ont.)

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The 2014 Subway Atlantic University Sport men's soccer championship will be hosted by Memorial University, Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 2014.

The championship schedule is as follows:

Friday, Oct. 31
Quarter-final #1: Acadia (5^th) vs. UPEI (4^th), 3 p.m.
Quarter-final #2: Memorial (6^th) vs. StFX (3^rd), 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 1
Semifinal #1: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. UNB (1^st), 2 p.m.
Semifinal #2: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Cape Breton (2^nd), 5 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 2
Championship Game: Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner, 2 p.m.

*Note: All games of the championship will be available via webcast, live at www.AUStv.ca.

Final AUS men's soccer standings:
www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/msoc/2014-15/standings 

The Atlantic University Sport conference receives two berths at 2014 CIS men's soccer championship, November 6-9, 2014, hosted by the University of Prince Edward Island.

Host school UPEI will qualify and the AUS champion will also qualify. If UPEI is the AUS champion, the second CIS berth will be awarded to the AUS championship runner-up.

For more information on the 2014 CIS men's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: english.cis-sic.ca/championships/msoc/index.

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