Blazers Men's Soccer Open the 2024/25 Recruiting Class with Impact Player Holfeld
The CMU Men's Soccer program is very pleased to announce the commitment of Tristen Holfeld for the 2024/25 MCAC season. The Dakota Collegiate product will bring athleticism and a passion for the game in the centre of the Blazers' lineup this upcoming fall.
The team will look to Holfeld to hold down the middle of the pitch as a central midfielder once the next MCAC season gets underway, especially after reigning All-Conference selection and CCAA All-Canadian Victor Hugo Gomes de Abreu graduates this spring and leaves a hole in the lineup. It will be big shoes to fill for the 5'11" Winnipeg native, but he might just have enough Brazilian in him to do the job, as an honourary member of Team Brazil in the All Nations tournament this past holiday season, which he went on to win alongside coaches Anderson Pereira and Kairus Soares de Lima.
Holfeld's connection with CMU through first year assistant coach Kairus Soares de Lima bloomed in high school where Soares de Lima helped with the soccer program during his time at Dakota Collegiate. An MHSAA "AAAA" school, Dakota competes against the top high school talent in the province, and under Holfeld's leadership as captain the team were finalists in their S.C.A.C. zone during his final season in 2022/23, narrowly missing out on the wildcard berth at the Provincial Championships. Since graduating from youth soccer to the men's division, Holfeld has continued to play both against and with coaches Kairus and Anderson, evolving his game and further catching the eyes of the Blazers coaching staff leading to his decision to become a student-athlete at Canadian Mennonite University.
Throughout his club career Holfeld has represented BoniVital, first in the Premier Youth division, and since graduating, on the Senior Men's side. In 2022, in his final season with the BoniVital youth program, Holfeld and his team were the Manitoba Soccer Championship winners, which gave the team the honour of representing Manitoba at the Canadian Youth Soccer National Championships in Surrey, BC, an opportunity the rising star would like to repeat at the collegiate level with the Blazers.
The newest addition to Blazers Athletics is humbled with the opportunity to play, learn, and develop under coach Anderson Pereira, who was recently named the MCAC Men's Futsal Coach of the Year ahead of their run to the championship finals this past weekend. Pereira returned the praise of his latest signing, stating "having had the privilege of facing this exceptional talent on the field, I can attest to the extraordinary skill and relentless work ethic that Tristen brings to the game. He is not just a player; he is a game changer. With a remarkable ability to read the game, exceptional ball control, and an unmatched drive to succeed, he is poised to make an indelible impact on our team." The opportunity to build new relationships with fellow student-athletes that have the same passion for the sport of soccer, and also the drive to succeed academically are two additional big parts of Holfeld's decision to sign with CMU, as is the opportunity to compete for more provincial championships in both outdoor soccer and futsal, and hopefully a national championship during his time with the team.
The winner of the Manitoba Collegiate Athletics Conference earns the right to represent the province at the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) National Championships at the conclusion of the outdoor season, which the Blazers look to accomplish now entering the fourth year that the MCAC has been fully included in the Canada-wide conference. Blazers Men's Soccer last hoisted the provincial trophy in the fall of 2018 in Pereira's first season at the helm, while their most recent Men's Futsal championship was in the spring of 2020.
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