Graham Kennedy Named CIS Coach of the Year for Mens Soccer
CIS men’s soccer
Laval’s Priol named player of the year
Courtesy Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Nov. 10, 2010
TORONTO (CIS) – Third-year Laval University midfielder Julien Priol was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport player of the year in men’s soccer, Wednesday evening.
The native of Quimper, France, became the first-ever Rouge et Or to claim the Joe Johnson memorial trophy as CIS MVP.
Other CIS major award winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet in Toronto were Alberta forward Marcus Johnstone of Edmonton, who was named rookie of the year; Memorial fullback Andre Le of St. John’s, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service award; and St. Francis Xavier’s Graham Kennedy, who earned the coach-of-the-year award, presented by Coaches of Canada.
The 2010 CIS championship, hosted by the University of Toronto, gets under way Thursday and culminates with the national final Sunday at 4 p.m. All games from the tournament will be webcast by SSN Canada (www.ssncanada.ca or www.cis-sic.ca)
For all the information on the championship: www.cis-sic.ca
JOE JOHNSON MEMORIAL TROPHY (player of the year): Julien Priol, Laval
One year after leading Laval to its first-ever national title and being named to the CIS championship all-star team, Priol was simply the most dominant player in the ultra-competitive Quebec conference this season.
The 5-foot-7 midfielder finished second in league scoring with four goals and seven assists in 12 outings en route to his first selection as a RSEQ all-star and a spot on the first all-Canadian team. He was named Laval player of the game on four occasions over the 12-match schedule.
Thanks to his brilliant play, the Rouge et Or, who are set to defend their CIS title this week in Toronto, finished first in Quebec with a sparkling 10-2-0 mark and set a single-season team record with 39 goals scored, while matching their all-time low with only eight goals allowed. Laval was ranked in the top four in all 10 weekly national polls this fall, including seven weeks at No. 1.
Priol and the Rouge et Or resumed their domination in the conference playoffs as they defeated Montreal and UQAM en route to a second straight RSEQ banner. The Quebec MVP netted the insurance marker in a 2-0 gold-medal win over UQAM.
After obtaining a degree in communication at La Rochelle, in his native France, Priol moved across the Atlantic to Quebec City in August of 2008 and is now working towards his masters of public communication.
“Julien is fun to watch, he is extremely spectacular,” said Laval head coach Samir Ghrib, the 2009 CIS coach of the year. “He can score himself, but he is also very unselfish and creates countless opportunities for his teammates. His contribution to the team is invaluable. He fully deserves this prestigious honour.”
The other nominees for the 2010 Joe Johnson trophy were StFX midfielder Michael Marousek of Prague, Czech Republic, York striker Adrian Pena of Woodbridge, Ont., and Saskatchewan midfielder Joshua Northey of Saskatoon.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Marcus Johnstone, Alberta
Johnstone is the first Golden Bear to be named CIS rookie of the year since the inception of the award in 1999.
The 5-foot-11 forward earned a spot on the first Canada West all-star team in his university debut after he tallied eight goals and three assists in 14 regular season matches – including 11 starts - to lead all CWUAA freshmen in scoring. His eight markers were good for second most in the conference, tied with all-Canadian teammate Samuel Lam. Johnstone scored twice in the third game of the schedule, a 3-1 win over provincial rival Calgary, and twice more two contests later in a 5-2 defeat of Victoria, cementing his place in the starting line-up for good.
His performances helped the Golden Bears take first place in Canada West with a single-season team record 11 wins, for only two losses and one tie. Already qualified for the CIS tournament following its first-place finish, Alberta went on to claim bronze at the conference Final Four.
Before joining the Bears, Johnstone spent two years with the Vancouver Whitecaps residency training program and was a member of Canada’s Under-17 team, as well as the Alberta U-13 and U-16 provincial squads. He won the U-18 club national championship and was a U-16 national all-star.
“We are very proud of Marcus and this accomplishment,” said 26-year Alberta head coach Len Vickery. “His goal scoring and strong attacking play were a major contributing factor to our success. His dedication to improving his game has been total, and the results from that effort speak for themselves.”
Cape Breton forward Ian Greedy of Lower Sackville, N.S., Montreal midfielder Maxime Laurey of St-Germain-en-Laye, France, and Toronto midfielder Ezequiel Lubocki of Winnipeg were also in the running for the top-freshman award.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Andre Le, Memorial
Le is the first Memorial winner of the student-athlete community service award, presented for the first time in 2005.
The St. John’s native graduated last spring with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry but returned to Memorial this year to pursue a masters diploma in clinical epidemiology. This opportunity allowed the team captain to suit up for the Sea-Hawks for a fifth and final season.
On the field, the fullback played in every minute of every game in 2010 as the Sea-Hawks compiled a 5-5-3 AUS record. In the classroom, the multiple scholarship and award recipient is well on his way to a fifth nod in as many years as a CIS Academic All-Canadian.
In the community Le has worked hard to ensure the Sea-Hawks give back. He has volunteered over 125 hours with St. John Ambulance since 2008, has acted as a volunteer coach for Special Olympics, also since 2008, and has coached bowling, floor hockey and swimming. He gave his time and expertise as a judge at the Newfoundland Regional Science Fair in 2009 and 2010, and has also been involved with ESL Conversation classes conversing with foreign students in order to improve their English speaking skills and has volunteered with children’s liturgy at his local church.
Specific to the Memorial athletic program, Le is involved with many groups and events such as the annual Tely 10 and volunteering at the St. Mary’s School Fall Fair and Spring Fairs. He has been a participant in the Rotary Read-A-Long program reading to children at numerous schools for the past two seasons. He is also a member of the MUN varsity athletes’ council.
“Andre has emerged as a quality leader within our men’s soccer program and truly leads by example,” said Memorial Athletic Director Michelle Healey. “His ability to juggle the multiple demands on his time and to achieve success as an athlete, student and community volunteer is nothing short of amazing. He is an outstanding ambassador for Memorial and is truly deserving of this award.”
The other nominees were Laval’s Samuel Georget of Segré, France, Toronto’s Lawrence Buchan of Port Moody, B.C., and Saskatchewan’s Myles Sheddon of Saskatoon.
COACH OF THE YEAR, presented by Coaches of Canada: Graham Kennedy, StFX
In only his second campaign at the helm, Kennedy was named the AUS coach of the year and became only the second X-Men coach to be honoured at the CIS level. The legendary Lou Bilek, who guided StFX for 39 years before handing head-coaching duties to Kennedy last season, claimed the award in 1988 and 1993.
This fall, the X-Men were the only undefeated team in the country in conference play and finished first in the AUS with a superb 11-0-2 mark and 35 points, eight more than their closest rivals. After opening the season outside of the national Top 10, StFX was ranked in the final eight weekly coaches’ polls, including the last three weeks at No. 1. After a fifth-place finish in his inaugural campaign in 2009, Kennedy turned his squad into one of the top teams in the nation this season with 31 goals scored, five goals against and nine shutouts, all tops in the Atlantic.
Kennedy, who has his Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) B coaching license and has served as a Canadian scout for the Birmingham City Football Club, was an associate coach under Bilek before taking over as StFX head coach. After his playing days with the X-Men from 1985 to 1989, he went on to earn a master of education degree in coaching from the University of Victoria, in 1996. Prior to returning to StFX, he served in a number of administrative and coaching positions in Calgary.
“Graham is a winner and his success can be attributed, in part, to his ability to challenge his players and himself to get a little bit better each and every day,” said StFX Director of Athletics & Recreation Leo MacPherson. “He has been an outstanding addition to our team of coaches and he has already had a positive impact on soccer within the AUS.”
Laval’s Samir Ghrib, York’s Carmine Isacco and Alberta’s Len Vickery were the other finalists for the CIS coach-of-the-year award.
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday, with defending national champion Laval leading the way with five selections overall, including three first-team nods.
The 10 players joining Priol on the first CIS squad were conference MVPs Marousek, Pena and Northey, as well as Laval goalkeeper Vincent Cournoyer of St-Hyacinthe, Que.; Toronto’s Darragh McGee of Donegal, Ireland, UBC’s Jason Gill of Abbotsford, B.C., and Laval’s Karim Ziouane of Mulhouse, France, on defence; Alberta’s Samuel Lam of Edmonton and Saint Mary’s Jonattan Cordoba of Halifax at midfield, and Toronto striker Nordo Gooden of Kingston, Jamaica.
All of them are first-time members of the first all-Canadian unit. Northey made the second team a year ago.
The second CIS squad for 2010 is comprised of Alberta keeper Jaswinder Gill of Edmonton as well as U of A teammate Harman Braich of Edmonton, StFX’s Max Maund of Courtenay, B.C., and York’s Jamaal Smith of Mississauga, Ont., on defence; Dalhousie’s Ross Hagen of Calgary, Cape Breton’s Andrew Rigby of Nottingham, England, Waterloo’s Mohamed Aborig of Tripoli, Lybia, and Ryerson’s Alex Braletic of Thornhill, Ont., at midfield; and Concordia’s Matthijs Eppinga of Druchten, Netherlands, and Laval’s Gabriel Moreau of St-Hyacinthe, Que., at the striker position.
Hagen, Rigby, Braletic and Moreau were all CIS all-stars a year ago, including first-team selections for Hagen and Rigby. Hagen was also a second-team all-Canadian in 2008.
CIS MEN’S SOCCER: 2010 AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Joe Johnson Memorial trophy (player of the year): Julien Priol, Laval
Rookie of the year: Marcus Johnstone, Alberta
Student-Athlete Community Service award: Andre Le, Memorial
Coach of the year, presented by Coaches of Canada: Graham Kennedy, StFX
First Team
Position Athlete University Year Hometown Faculty
Goalkeeper Vincent Cournoyer Laval 3 St-Hyacinthe, Que. Physical Education & Health
Defence Darragh McGee Toronto 4 Donegal, Ireland Physical Education & Health
Defence Jason Gill UBC 4 Abbotsford, B.C. Arts
Defence Karim Ziouane Laval 1 Mulhouse, France Social Services
Midfield Joshua Northey Saskatchewan 4 Saskatoon, Sask. Arts & Science
Midfield Samuel Lam Alberta 3 Edmonton, Alta. Open Studies
Midfield Julien Priol Laval 3 Quimper, France Masters (communications)
Midfield Michael Marousek StFX 4 Prague, Czech Rep. Human Kinetics
Midfield Jonattan Cordoba Saint Mary’s 2 Halifax, N.S. Arts
Striker Adrian Pena York 3 Woodbridge, Ont. Kinesiology & Health Science
Striker Nordo Gooden Toronto 5 Kingston, Jamaica Arts & Science
Second Team
Goalkeeper Jaswinder Gill Alberta 4 Edmonton, Alta. Arts
Defence Harman Braich Alberta 5 Edmonton, Alta. Science
Defence Max Maund StFX 2 Courtenay, B.C. Human Kinetics
Defence Jamaal Smith York 5 Mississauga, Ont. Economics
Midfield Ross Hagen Dalhousie 5 Calgary, Alta. Commerce
Midfield Andrew Rigby Cape Breton 2 Nottingham, Eng. BACS
Midfield Mohamed Aborig Waterloo 3 Tripoli, Libya Chemical Engineering
Midfield Alex Braletic Ryerson 3 Thornhill, Ont. Engineering
Midfield Samuel Georget Laval 3 Segré, France Masters (Psy.)
Striker Matthijs Eppinga Concordia 3 Druchten, Neth. International Business
Striker Gabriel Moreau Laval 4 St-Hyacinthe, Que. Geomatics Sciences
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.
-CIS-