Montmorency College | The great epic of the Nomads

From the depths of Quebec college soccer… to national champions. In three years, the Nomades de Montmorency have gone from a team against whom “we could score points” to a team for which the “planets have aligned” in 2024. And this, despite numerous pitfalls which have caused difficulties. Nomads, a team that lived up to its name very well. Here is his story.

Audrey Lefebvre and Rafaëlle Robitaille-Bourgeois, accompanied by their head coach Alexandre Kénol, emerge from Montmorency College in Laval with their Canadian champion trophy in hand. They join the journalist and the photographer of The Presson this cool Tuesday morning in November, near the Nomades synthetic pitch for a photo opportunity.

These sessions are usually used to illustrate and place the actors of a story in the scene where it took place. But this time, the symbolism is completely different: the Nomads have not set foot on this pitch all year, the surface having been condemned awaiting renovations which have not even started yet.

“We had to train on several fields in Laval even though we have a field in our backyard,” Alexandre Kénol explained to us a few moments later, now seated at a corner table in the corridor inside the Laval establishment. .

Kénol, in addition to having his coaching license, is an entrepreneur who works in events.

” When [Duane John, directeur-adjoint des Nomades de Montmorency] called me, I immediately saw the potential, says Kénol, while we hear a CEGEP student playing the guitar in the distance. This is the kind of project I like! The one where everyone says, “Screw it, it’s dead, you’ll never be able to do anything with it.” »

It was 2022. Three seasons later, his team ended up winning the Canadian championship, in Capilano, British Columbia, by not allowing a goal in three games. From November 6 to 9, they eliminated Vancouver Island University (VIU), champions of British Columbia, in quick succession, then Seneca Polytecnic from Toronto, who had won the Canadian tournament in 2023. The Nomades lifted the national trophy at end of a 3-0 victory in the final against their eternal rivals, the Ahuntsic Eagles.

« Family business »

Rafaëlle Robitaille-Bourgeois, a 19-year-old forward, scored two goals in the Canadian final. She experienced the before and after Kénol.

“My first year, […] it was less serious, she remembers. We didn’t listen to the coach too much. He wasn’t allowed to really do anything well. »

There was also COVID-19, which had an impact on “motivation towards soccer” at that time.

The Nomads were promoted to the first division of the collegiate circuit in 2018. For the next four years, their record was 4 wins, 22 losses and 2 draws. It was 83 goals against, 19 goals for in 28 games. Rafaëlle Robitaille-Bourgeois lets out a little laughing sigh when these statistics are displayed.

When Kénol took the reins of the program, accompanied by her deputies Elena Waldispuehl, Stéphie-Ann Dadaille, William Bassi and Fernando Herrera Lambur, there was “a lot more supervision,” she says.

“I think he knows how to assert himself! », Explains the attacker, giggling.

Audrey Lefebvre, a 17-year-old defender, came to Montmorency in 2024 precisely because she “wanted something serious”.

By contributing to three consecutive shutouts and several assists on goals for the Nomades, Lefebvre was named MVP of the Canadian championship.

“They talked to me about the atmosphere,” she emphasizes. They all told me it was extraordinary. »

This characteristic of the Nomads is “our best calling card,” explains Kénol.

No one is better placed to talk about it than Stacey-Julia Côté, named team captain for this 2024 season. The one her teammates call “mom” – at 20 years old, she is still only 18 months older than the majority of them! – arrived last year to evolve in this “culture of united girls”.

We speak with her on the phone a few hours after our visit to the college, since she is currently training to become a nurse. She tells us about the Cité-de-la-Santé parking lot, after a day in perinatal care with newborn babies.

“Our slogan is family businessexplains the one who says she is half-Quebec, half-Haitian. […] Everyone has something to contribute. Kénol brought that. He is Haitian, I am Haitian, we make cookouts. We sit down, we take the time to eat. We paint as a team. We often do activities off the field, which allows us to build really important bonds. »

A penalty that changes everything

This culture, coupled with a tightened defense and enhanced pride, bore fruit. In 2024, the Nomads finish in second position on the circuit, one point behind first held by Ahuntsic. They have the best defense in the league.

By qualifying for a very first Quebec final, they automatically obtain their ticket to the Canadian championship. And this, even if they end up losing to their great rivals in the shootout.

“Ahuntsic-Montmorency, it’s France-Brazil, Canadian-Nordiques! jokes Alexandre Kénol. Montmo has always been Ahuntsic’s little sister. We’ve been thrown around a bit over the years. »

The disappointment is palpable when we talk about it again with Audrey Lefebvre, since it was her missed penalty which decided the two teams. But according to his coach, that’s what became “the trigger” for Lefebvre’s stellar defensive performance in British Columbia.

Especially since she had time to think about it. Kénol explains to us that the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the RSEQ had already purchased the plane tickets in advance, anticipating that as usual, a team from Quebec and a team from Montreal would travel for the national championship. . This time, it was two teams from the metropolitan region.

” THE [autres équipes] took direct flights, says Stacey-Julia Côté. We took a three-hour bus to Quebec. Then we flew to Toronto. We had a stopover. Our flight was delayed. We went all the way to Vancouver. We had a 1.5 hour drive to Capilano. »

Nomads from start to finish, they said.

“A story of resilience”

North of Vancouver, they play as the lowest ranked team in the tournament, and therefore with the mentality of underdogs (underdogs). They surprised everyone until they found the Eagles in the grand final. On the synthetic field of Capilano University, they won convincingly against Ahuntsic, at the end of their very first participation in the Canadian championship.

“It’s a pride that we will carry all our lives,” believes Rafaëlle Robitaille-Bourgeois.

For Alexandre Kénol, this triumph is “a story of resilience” on the part of players who “chose a challenge”.

“No one believed it except them. They will have achieved something historic by putting their name around a first success in soccer, in Laval. »