From STU to Semi-Pro: Oakes and Springer Shine for the Tommies
St. Thomas university has had a high-quality men’s soccer program for years now. A new professional quality turf field, stunning locker rooms, and a full coaching and training staff allow the Tommies to present themselves well not only for the satisfaction of current players, but also for the recruitment of new stars.
The Tommies men’s soccer roster has many star players, but one who stands out is the rookie Josh Oakes. From the first game in the preseason to the last game at Nationals, Oakes started every game for the Tommies and was a pillar on defense. On the pitch, he specialized in winning the ball from attackers with hard tackles, making intelligent passes out of the back to advance the offense, and leading by example with an undying work ethic.
Oakes’s immediate impact on the game at the university level impressed the Berlin FC UPSL squad enough to secure a roster spot for the upcoming summer months. Berlin FC is the academy where he has played for years in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario, and the UPSL team is their highest-level squad, which is semi-professional.
When asked about his thoughts on playing at the UPSL level this summer, he said “being on this particular squad makes me feel pretty good because there are so many talented players that are coming in on the squad, D1 players, D2 players from all over the country.”
Oakes’s accomplishments reflect very well on the Tommies soccer program, but he isn’t the only Tommie to come out of Berlin FC to get the UPSL call-up!
Brett Springer is a third-year student at St. Thomas University and has built his reputation as the most feared goal-scorer in the league. He scored 15 goals through 10 regular-season games, not including the Tommies Nationals run where he scored numerous goals and won CCAA All-Canadian first team, meaning he was one of the most productive strikers in the country. His CCAA accomplishments put the whole country on notice, but winning ACAA player of the year proved to everyone how dominant he is within the Atlantic League.
When asked about the opportunity to play at the semi-professional level for the summer months, he responded “It feels amazing obviously, it’s a great opportunity, and it’s going to give me great exposure.”
Springer not only secured himself a roster spot with Berlin FC’s UPSL team, but his production and accomplishments also landed him a tryout with the Halifax Wanderers, the east coasts professional soccer team in the CPL.
When asked how he felt about this opportunity, he said “It feels great honestly, because it’s tougher usually coming from a small area to get exposure like that, and what I like to think is if you’re good enough they’ll find you, and that’s what happened.”
The Tommies men’s soccer program is fortunate to not only have had Oakes and Springer for their historic 5th place Nationals run, but to also have them back in the green and gold for next season.