2022 AUS men's soccer major award winners and all-stars announced
UNB's Keji Adeniyi-Olonade named AUS MVP
(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2022 men's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.
Fourth-year UNB REDS striker Keji Adeniyi-Olonade been named the AUS most valuable player, while the Cape Breton Capers' Jacob Spizzirri, of Woodbridge, Ontario is the 2022 AUS rookie of the year.
This year's recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award is STFX midfielder Oliver Storseth of Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
And in his third season at the helm of the UNB REDS program, Barry Morrison has been selected by his peers as the AUS coach of the year.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Keji Adeniyi-Olonade, a fourth-year striker from the UNB REDS, has been named the Atlantic University Sport men's soccer most valuable player.
An arts student from Nottingham, England, Adeniyi-Olonade helped to lead the REDS to a 7-3-2 record and a third-place finish in the 2022 regular season. An offensive force, he recorded eight goals—four of which were game-winners—and three assists for a total of 11 points, the second-most in the conference.
Along with being named AUS MVP, Adeniyi-Olonade was named an AUS first team all-star. He is the fifth UNB player to win this award, and the first since 2007 when Ken Morrison received the honour.
Adeniyi-Olonade will now represent the Atlantic conference as the league's nominee for the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as the U SPORTS player of the year. Atlantic conference nominees have taken home the honour in 2017, 2014, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1998 and 1996.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Cape Breton Capers midfielder Jacob Spizzirri has been chosen by the coaches as the 2022 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.
A business student from Woodbridge, Ontario, Spizzirri played in 11 regular-season games for the U SPORTS no. 1-ranked Capers this season, getting the start in eight. He scored four goals for Cape Breton, two of which were game-winning goals. The Capers were league-leaders in goals scored (28), assists (22) and shutouts (6).
Spizzirri becomes the seventh Capers player to be named AUS rookie of the year. Past Capers winners include Ze Cunha (2021), Isaiah Johnston (2019), Charlie Waters (2017), Joel Eckert-Ayensa (2015) and Ian Greedy (2010).
Spizzirri will now represent the AUS as the conference's nominee for the Lou Bilek Award for U SPORTS rookie of the year. His teammate Ze Cunha took home the national rookie of the year award last year.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Oliver Storseth, a fourth-year midfielder with the STFX X-Men is the student-athlete community service award recipient for 2022.
A chemistry student from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Storseth balances his sport and studies with a commitment to giving back to the community. He is the founder of the Unified at X initiative, an inclusive sports program that brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities in competition.
Based on the Special Olympics Unified Sport Model, Unified at X sessions take place bi-weekly and feature different sports and athletes. Storseth, a long-time Special Olympics coach in basketball, organizes facilities, equipment and athlete recruitment for the initiative. He is also a member of the STFX Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and he volunteered his time helping out in the community with various activities this fall post-hurricane as the local Antigonish community got back up and running. His coach, Graham Kennedy, calls him "a young leader who genuinely cares about others and has a strong sense of empathy."
Storseth will now represent the Atlantic conference as the nominee for the national student-athlete community service award. Since the inception of the national award in 2005, AUS student-athletes have claimed the honour 11 times (in 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007 and 2006). Dalhousie's Gracious Kasheke was the most recent Atlantic recipient in 2019.
COACH OF THE YEAR
UNB REDS head coach Barry Morrison has been selected by his peers as the AUS men's soccer coach for 2022.
In his third season leading the REDS program, Morrison guided his team to a 7-3-2 season record and a third-place finish in the conference standings. UNB tallied 21 goals on 91 shots on goal for a .695 shots on goal percentage—the second highest in the AUS.
Morrison is the first UNB coach to be named coach of the year since 2013, when Miles Pinsent took home the honour. He now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. Cape Breton University head coach Deano Morley took home the national award in 2017 and 2018. Other national award wins by AUS coaches in recent years include Acadia's Findlay MacRae in 2016, UNB's Miles Pinsent in 2012 and STFX's Graham Kennedy in 2010.
2022 AUS MEN'S SOCCER ALL-STARS
The AUS first and second team all-stars were also announced Tuesday. They are as follows:
First Team All-Stars
Keeper – Daniel Clarke, Cape Breton (2nd year—Milton Keynes, England)
Defender – Jamie Watson, Cape Breton (2nd year—Kirkcaldy, Scotland)
Defender – Lewis Dye, STFX (4th year—Fall River, N.S.)
Defender – Cameron Zinn, Saint Mary's (4th year—Bridgewater, N.S.)
Midfielder – Logan Rieck, STFX (3rd year—Cambridge, ON)
Midfielder – Kyle Cordeiro, STFX (2nd year—Oakville, ON)
Midfielder – Felly Elonda, Memorial (3rd year—St. John's, NL)
Striker – Keji Adeniyi-Olonade, UNB (4th year—Nottingham, England)
Striker – Sean Freeman, Saint Mary's (2nd year—Halifax, N.S.)
Striker – Luke Rosettani, UNB (2nd year—Kanata, ON)
Striker – Cian Lynch, Cape Breton (2nd year—Dublin, Ireland)
Second Team All-Stars
Keeper – Aiden Rushenas, Dalhousie (2nd year—Toronto, ON)
Defender – Oscar Marshall, Acadia (2nd year—Lake Loon, N.S.)
Defender – Ben Fortuin, Cape Breton (3rd year—Maidenhead, England)
Defender – Harry Carter, Memorial (4th year—St. John's, NL)
Midfielder – Owen Sheppard, Cape Breton (2nd year—St. John's, NL)
Midfielder – Kyle Routledge, Dalhousie (2nd year—Halifax, N.S.)
Midfielder – Cian Tousignant-Osiadhail, Saint Mary's (5th year—Timberlea, N.S.)
Midfielder – Lars Gierull, UNB (2nd year—Ottawa, ON)
Midfielder – Jacob Spizzirri, Cape Breton (1st year—Woodbridge, ON)
Striker –Mohamed Lamine Touré, Moncton (4th year—Moncton, N.B.)
Striker – Jonathan Kisse, Moncton (2nd year—Toronto, ON)
The 2022 Subway AUS Soccer Championships presented by Bell will be hosted by Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia, November 2-5. All games will available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.
Men's championship schedule | 2022 AUS men's soccer standings
The AUS will earn two berths in the U SPORTS men's soccer championship being hosted by Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. November 10-13.