Alix Bruch named AUS second team all-star

2013 AUS Women's Soccer Awards and All-Stars Announced
Cape Breton's Karolyne Blain named AUS MVP

(MONCTON, N.B.) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2013 women's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.

Third-year Cape Breton Capers striker Karolyne Blain was named the AUS most valuable player at Thursday night's awards banquet, hosted in Moncton by Mount Allison University.

Other AUS major award winners announced were Acadia's Emily Nickerson of Coldbrook, N.S., who was named the rookie of the year; Acadia's Alana Fairfax of Somerset, N.S, who received the student-athlete community service award; and Cape Breton Capers head coach Stephen 'Ness' Timmons, who was selected as the coach of the year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Karolyne Blain, Cape Breton

Karolyne Blain, a fourth-year striker with the CIS No. 5-ranked Cape Breton Capers, is the 2013 AUS women's soccer most valuable player.

The 5-foot-0 native of Copper Cliff, Ont. scored a league-leading 14 goals this season, twice as many as any other women's soccer student-athlete in the conference this year. In addition, she recorded 40 shots on goal.

Blain was also named to the AUS first-team all-star squad for the second time in her Capers career at Thursday's banquet. Prior to sitting last season out with an injury, she was named an AUS first team all-star in 2011 and subsequently earned 2011 CIS second team all-star honours. 

She was also named 2011 AUS rookie of the year in her first year with the Cape Breton soccer program, scoring 13 goals that season.

"It is nice to see the league recognize Karolyne as MVP. She had a terrific year, scoring many key goals and setting others up," said Capers head coach Ness Timmons. "Karolyne is a skilful striker, but more importantly she is a great girl, a hard worker and an excellent student."

Blain becomes the fourth Cape Breton player since 1991 to be named the conference's most valuable player.

Former Capers stars Kristina Weatherbie (2007), Natalie Cullen (2003) and Sarah Drake (2002) are also previous Cape Breton recipients of the award.

Only two Atlantic conference athletes have taken home the Chantal Navert Memorial Award as CIS player of the year. UPEI's Amy Connolly won it in 2005 and Cape Breton's Sarah Drake was the 2002 recipient.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Emily Nickerson, Acadia

Emily Nickerson of the Acadia Axewomen has been chosen by the coaches as the 2013 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.

A 5-foot-6 defender from Coldbrook, N.S., Nickerson formed an integral part of Acadia's back line, with the Axewomen allowing only 10 goals against in 13 games this season to claim third place in the AUS standings.

"We're really excited for Emily to have won this award. The centre-back position is usually a role that takes a few years to adjust to at this level, but she came in and played well beyond her years," said Axewomen head coach Amit Batra.

"We knew she was highly technical and athletic and that she had good tactical sense, but what makes her stand out is her competitive drive," he added. "Emily refuses to lose her battles and adjusts quickly to cover any mistake in the back line."

Nickerson becomes just the third Acadia women's soccer player to win this award since 1990. Andrea Murphy earned the honour for the Axewomen in 2008 and Emmanuelle Plourde claimed the title in 1994.

The only Atlantic conference players to be named the CIS women's soccer rookie of the year are Cape Breton's Michelle Desjardins in 2000 and Dalhousie's Mary-Beth Bowie in 1997.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Alana Fairfax, Acadia

Fourth-year captain of the Acadia Axewomen Alana Fairfax, is the 2013 AUS student-athlete community service award recipient

This is the second consecutive year the 5-foot-8 midfielder/defender from Somerset, N.S. has earned the honour. Last year, Fairfax also took home the CIS student-athlete community service award.

Boasting a 3.96 GPA last semester and a 3.8 overall GPA, Fairfax is an exemplary student-athlete, balancing athletics, academics and extensive community involvement.

Progressing in her role with the Acadia Global Medical Brigades (GMB), she is now the vice-president of medical for the organization. GMB is a student-led global health and sustainable development organization. The Acadia chapter organizes yearly missions in Honduras.

Fairfax's responsibilities include contacting pharmacies for medications, working with Health Partners International and other suppliers to acquire medication, sorting and keeping track of medical supplies and working with pharmacists in both Honduras and Canada to organize transportation and required medications for the trip.

Fairfax is a student director of the Acadia S.M.I.L.E. (Sensory Motor Instructional Learning Experience) program in Wolfville, running the program on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. She served as an assistant coach for the track and field Special Olympics team this past summer and returns yearly as a co-chair for the local Relay for Life.

She also gives her time to help with the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board literacy program, volunteers at the Wolfville Nursing Home and is an active member of the Acadia Players Association.

"Alana has been our captain for two years and it's because there is no better role model for our players in terms of a combination of academics, training habits and courage," said Axewomen head coach Amit Batra. "She shares her commitment to community service and leads by example with many of the youth in the community whether by coaching or speaking in classrooms through Acadia initiatives."

Players from the AUS conference have now taken home the CIS student-athlete community service award for the past three consecutive years. Prior to Fairfax's national win last year,

Acadia's Cathleen Bleakney and Memorial's Samantha Hanford took home the honour in 2011 and 2010, respectively.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Stephen 'Ness' Timmons, Cape Breton

Cape Breton head coach Ness Timmons has been chosen by his peers as the 2013 AUS coach of the year.

This marks the sixth time coach Timmons has been selected by his peers as the top coach in the conference. He previously won the award in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2012 and was also named the CIS coach of the year in 2000 and 2012.

This year, he guided the CIS No. 5-ranked Capers to their second consecutive undefeated regular season with a 9-0-4 record and another first place finish in the standings.

Timmons has been the only coach of the Cape Breton program since 1996 when they first joined the Atlantic conference. In 18 years, he has compiled a career regular season record of 134-56-44 and has now qualified for the AUS championship for the 14th year in a row.

Under coach Timmons, the Capers women's soccer program has captured six of the last ten AUS conference championship banners as well as a CIS banner in 2007.

"We are fortunate to have a national-calibre coach like Ness who has helped build such a highly successful women's soccer program at CBU," said John Ryan, CBU director of athletics. "His numerous coach of the year awards are a testament to both his ability as a coach and the quality of student-athletes he recruits into our program."

Other Atlantic conference coaches who have earned CIS coach of the year honours include UPEI's Mike Redmond (2004 and 2010) and former Acadia coach Laura Saunders (1990).

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS

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

First Team AUS All-Stars
Striker – Kinsella Noseworthy-Smith, Acadia (2nd year, Wolfville, N.S.)
Striker – Brianna Ford, UNB (3rd year, Halifax, N.S.)
Striker – Jane Pope, Memorial (1st year, St. John's, N.L.)
Striker – Karolyne Blain, Cape Breton (3rd year, Copper Cliff, Ont.)
Midfielder – Victoria Parkinson, Dalhousie (2nd year, Halifax, N.S.)
Midfielder – Joanna Blodgett, Dalhousie (5th year, Ottawa, Ont.)
Midfielder – Robbyn McNeill, Cape Breton (5th year, Kentville, N.S.)
Defender – Robyn Novorolsky, Cape Breton (1st year, Richmond Hill, Ont.)
Defender – Emily Nickerson, Acadia (1st year, Coldbrook, N.S.)
Defender – Kristy McGregor-Bales, Dalhousie (3rd year, Ottawa, Ont.)
Keeper – Tiffany O'Donnell, Cape Breton (4th year, Cole Harbour, N.S.)

Second Team AUS All-Stars
Striker - Donya Salomon-Ali, Moncton (2nd year, LaSalle, Que.)
Striker – Jessie Noseworthy, Memorial (1st year, St. John's, N.L.)
Striker – Meghan Earle, Acadia (1st year, Mount Pearl, N.L.)
Striker – Maria Scichilone, UPEI (4th year, Rothesay, N.B.)
Midfielder – Katie Ross, Acadia (1st year, Bedford, N.S.)
Midfielder – Alix Bruch, StFX (4th year, Calgary, Alta.)
Midfielder – Sarah Stanley, UPEI (4th year, Charlottetown, P.E.I.)
Defender – Jenna Blackburn, Acadia (3rd year, Brookside, N.S.)
Defender – Allison Bell-Davies, Cape Breton (5th year, Pickering, Ont.)
Defender – Haley Gates, UNB (2nd year, Bridgewater, N.S.)
Keeper – Caroline Wood, Acadia (4th year, Coldbrook, N.S.)

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The 2013 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's soccer championship will be hosted by Mount Allison University at Rocky Stone Field in Moncton, N.B, November 1-3, 2013.

The championship schedule is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 1
Quarter-final #1: UPEI (4th) vs. Memorial (5th), 11 a.m.
Quarter-final #2: Acadia (3rd) vs. Mount Allison (6th), 2 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 2
Semifinal #1: Cape Breton (1st) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed, 11 a.m.
Semifinal #2: Dalhousie (2nd) vs. Highest Remaining Seed, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 3
Championship Game: Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m.

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

Final AUS women's soccer standings:
http://atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wsoc/2013-14/standings 

The Atlantic University Sport conference receives one berth at the 2013 CIS women's soccer championship, hosted by the University of Toronto, November 7-10, 2013.

The AUS champion will be the lone team to qualify for this year's national championship.

For more information on the 2013 CIS women's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wsoc/index 

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