X-Men Soccer receive three AUS major awards; five all-star selections

2023 AUS men's soccer major award winners and all-stars announced

STFX's Kyle Cordeiro named AUS MVP

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2023 men's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.

Third-year STFX striker Kyle Cordeiro has been named the AUS most valuable player, while STFX midfielder Isaac VanWychen is the 2023 AUS rookie of the year.

This year's recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award is Dalhousie striker Luke Berryman of Halifax, N.S.

And in his fifteenth season at the helm of the STFX X-Men program, Graham Kennedy has been selected by his peers as the AUS coach of the year for the second time in his career.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Kyle Cordeiro, STFX X-Men

STFX X-Men striker Kyle Cordeiro has been named the Atlantic University Sport men's soccer most valuable player.

A fourth-year business student in his third year of eligibility from Oakville, Ont., Cordeiro led the AUS in goals with nine this season for the U SPORTS no. 6-ranked X-Men. He finished tied for first in points with 11.

He led STFX to a 9-2-1 record, a second-place finish in the regular season standings and a first-round bye through to the AUS championship semifinal round.

Along with being named AUS MVP, Cordeiro was named an AUS first team all-star today for the third consecutive season.

He 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, with former STFX standout Dan Hayfield winning it most recently in 2017.


ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Isaac VanWychen, STFX X-Men

STFX X-Men midfielder Isaac VanWychen has been chosen by the coaches as the 2023 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.

A human kinetics student from Middle Musquodoboit, N.S., VanWychen played in all 12 regular season games for the U SPORTS no. 6-ranked X-Men and started in nine of them.

He scored three goals and added an assist this season helping the X-Men to a 9-2-1 regular season record.

He is the first STFX player to be named AUS rookie of the year since former X-Men standout Liam Elbourne earned the honour in 2014.

VanWychen will now represent the AUS as the conference's nominee for the Lou Bilek Award for U SPORTS rookie of the year. The only Atlantic conference players to be honoured as the national rookie of the year are UNB's John Fish in 2004 and Dalhousie's Simon Richardson in 2001.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Luke Berryman, Dalhousie Tigers

Luke Berryman, a third-year striker with the Dalhousie Tigers, is the student-athlete community service award recipient for 2023.

An arts and social sciences student from Halifax, N.S. boasting a 3.67 GPA in the classroom, Berryman balances his sport and studies with a commitment to giving back to the community.

On the soccer pitch, Berryman played in seven games for the Tigers this season, scoring two goals.

His volunteer work in the community includes having started a project through his local YMCA to reduce barriers and make soccer more accessible to new Canadians and African Nova Scotians. Through this initiative he was able to acquire grants that allowed for over 100 children to register for and play club soccer this past summer.

Berryman was honoured with the Canadian Premier League's Game Changers award for this initiative.

"Luke is a leader in our locker room, but more impressively he understands the importance of community," said Tigers head coach Alan Jazic. "He also is a mentor to a lot of kids in his community. He's been giving back as a coach with Halifax City Soccer Club for many years, both as a volunteer and now at the grassroots of development. Luke is very passionate about making soccer and sport more accessible to all children facing barriers to enroll."

He 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: Graham Kennedy, STFX X-Men

STFX X-Men head coach Graham Kennedy has been selected by his peers as the AUS men's soccer coach of the year for the second time in his career.

He first earned the honour following the 2010 season when he was also chosen as the CIS (now U SPORTS) coach of the year.

In this (his 15^th) season at the helm of the X-Men program, Coach Kennedy led his team to a 9-2-1 record, a second-place finish in the regular season standings and a first-round bye through to the AUS championship semifinal round.

The STFX team managed a league-leading 33 goals in 12 regular season games and boasted the lowest goals against average in the conference of 0.92.

Coach Kennedy now becomes the Atlantic conference nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. Cape Breton Capers head coach Deano Morley is the most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to take home the national honour. He won in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018.



2023 AUS MEN'S SOCCER ALL-STARS

The AUS first and second team all-stars were also announced today. They are as follows:

First Team All-Stars:

Keeper – Daniel Clarke, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Milton Keynes, England)
Defender – Zé Ribeiro da Cunha, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Cascais, Portugal)
Defender – Harry Carter, Memorial (5^th year – St. John's, N.L.)
Defender – Woody Bain, Saint Mary's (3^rd year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Midfielder – Logan Rieck, STFX (3^rd year – Cambridge, Ont.)
Midfielder – Max Piepgrass, Cape Breton (2^nd year – Calgary, Alta.)
Midfielder – Max Bodurtha, STFX (3^rd year – Halifax, N.S.)
Striker – Kyle Cordeiro, STFX (3^rd year – Oakville, Ont.)
Striker – Owen Sheppard, Cape Breton (3^rd year – St. John's, N.L.)
Striker – Luke Rosettani, UNB (3^rd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker – Keji Adeniyi, UNB (5^th year – London, England)

Second Team All-Stars:

Keeper – Mattéo Blanc, Moncton (1^st year – Flavin, France)
Defender – Chris Schmit, UNB (3^rd year – Vancouver, B.C.)
Defender – Luke Green, STFX (3^rd year – Fall River, N.S.)
Defender – Adam Dunsworth, Saint Mary's (5^th year – Halifax, N.S.)
Midfielder – Kyle Routledge, Dalhousie (3^rd year – Halifax, N.S.)
Midfielder – Lars Gierull, UNB (3^rd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Midfielder – Anderson Peters, Acadia (3^rd year – Rothesay, N.B.)
Midfielder – Jason Hartill, Cape Breton (1^st year – Carleton Place, Ont.)
Striker – Colin Connors, Memorial (3^rd year – St. John's, N.L.)
Striker – Dyan Vil, STFX (3^rd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker – Colby Mercer, Saint Mary's (3^rd year – Beaverbank, N.S.)

The 2023 AUS Soccer Championships presented by Bell are being hosted by Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S. Oct. 26 to 29.       

The men's schedule can be found here: https://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/msoc/2023-24/postseason/index

All games of the championship will be available via webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

Final AUS men's soccer standings:
https://www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/msoc/2023-24/standings

The AUS conference receives two berths this season at the 2023 U SPORTS men's soccer championship being hosted by Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S. Nov. 9 to 12. The berths will be awarded to the Cape Breton Capers as host and the AUS conference champions. Should the Capers win the AUS championship, the second berth will be awarded to the other conference finalists.  

For more information on the national men's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: https://usports.ca/en/championships/soccer/m.

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