Ally Rowe wins AUS most valuable player award for second consecutive season, Hannaford, Lancaster and Wilton earn all-star nods
By Corey LeBlanc
Ally Rowe wins AUS most valuable player award for second consecutive season
Hannaford, Lancaster and Wilton earn all-star nods
By Corey LeBlanc
SYDNEY – Alliyah 'Ally' Rowe – for the second consecutive year – is the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) most valuable player in women's soccer.
It has been a season for the ages for the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers standout, one in which the fourth-year striker broke three prestigious conference records.
The native of Kitchener, Ontario led the AUS with 25 goals, which shattered the conference record of former CBU star forward Dr. Karolyn Blain (16).
Rowe, an arts student, set a new single-season standard on the strength of twice tallying six goals in a match. With those efforts, she broke – and then tied – the AUS mark for goals in a single game in less than one week, eclipsing the record (five) held by former UPEI Panther Tessa Roche since 2005.
And, in only four seasons, Rowe also became the AUS all-time goal scoring leader, with 56, also overtaking Blain – who donned Caper orange from 2011 to 2015 – and her 53-goal mark set over five varsity seasons.
Rowe, who also topped the conference in shots (75), was a key contributor to a Capers' team that finished second in the AUS, at 10-1-1, and earned a first-round bye in the AUS playoffs.
A leader of the seventh-ranked program in USPORTS, she is a two-time first-team All-Canadian who also garnered AUS and national rookie of the year awards in 2019.
Rowe, with 28 points, tied STFX fifth-year striker Amanda Smith for top spot in the USPORTS scoring race.
An AUS first-team all-star for the fourth consecutive time, Rowe will be the conference's nominee for the Chantal Navert Memorial Award as the U SPORTS player of the year.
CBU striker Sarah Drake won the national prize in 2002.
All-star Capers
A trio of Capers join Rowe as AUS all-stars for the 2023 regular season.
Grace Hannaford, a sophomore midfielder, captured a first-team all-star selection.
The native of Enfield, Nova Scotia finished third in the conference scoring race – with six goals and 10 assists.
The 2022 AUS rookie of the year – a science student at CBU – notched two game-winning goals, while collecting 36 shots – the fourth most in the conference.
Hannaford was an AUS second-team all-star last season.
Freshman goalkeeper Ellie Lancaster (Fall River, NS) capped her first varsity campaign with a 7-1-1 record, while anchoring a Caper defense that surrendered only 13 goals and tied for second-least in the conference.
The arts student tied for the AUS lead in shutouts, with four, while finishing first in save percentage (.837) and second in goals against average (0.88).
Junior midfielder Ally Wilton of the Capers received an AUS second-team all-star selection.
An engineering student from Bedford, Nova Scotia, she served as a mainstay for CBU, both offensively and defensively.
It is the first AUS all-star nod for Wilton.
The Capers will see their first action of the 2023 AUS Women's Soccer Championship – presented by Bell – in a semi-final match on Friday, Oct. 27, at 5 p.m., at Ness Timmons Field on the CBU campus.
-30-