UOIT's Peyvand Mossavat named CIS Coach of the Year

(Photo: Stephane Gaudreau)

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – Jessica King, a fifth-year midfielder/striker from Trinity Western University, was named CIS player of the year in women's soccer, Wednesday night.

King, who hails from Liverpool, England, became the first TWU player to claim the Chantal Navert Memorial Award since the Spartans made their CIS debut in 2001.

Other national award winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet held at the Museum of Civilization in Quebec City were Laval defender Mélissa Roy, who was named rookie of the year; Acadia defender Caoimhe McParland, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award; as well as UOIT's Peyvand Mossavat, who merited coach-of-the-year honours.

The 2014 CIS championship gets underway Thursday at Laval University's TELUS-UL Stadium and culminates Sunday with the national final at 2 p.m. All 11 games from the eight-team tournament will be webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.

Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wsoc/index

CHANTAL NAVERT MEMORIAL AWARD (player of the year): Jessica King, Trinity Western 

King was nothing short of sensational in her fifth and final campaign with the Spartans. The 5-foot-7 senior placed second in Canada West and first on her team with 12 goals in only 11 league contests, including a remarkable, CIS-leading seven game-winners as Trinity Western kept a stellar 10-1-1 record in conference action. 

The psychology student scored in all but three games in the regular season and her dozen markers represented 38.7 per cent of the Spartans' entire goal output. Along the way, she collected her first career hat-trick in a victory over UBC Okanagan on September 26. She resumed her offensive prowess in the playoffs with the winning goal in the Canada West final.   

King was a big part of the Spartans' back-to-back CIS championship triumphs in 2012 and 2013 and could be part of history this week as Trinity Western hopes to become the first team to claim a third straight Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy.  

"Jess is a very special player who continues to have an outstanding season and she is so worthy of this recognition. We recognize that without her ability to finish and generate such quality chances for our team we likely aren't where we are today," said TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh. "I am so proud of her. She has worked so hard to grow in her ability to play at the highest level and to influence the game for all 90 minutes. I have always believed that Jess's soccer savvy, her technical ability and dedication to the game and her teammates would shine through and she is getting everything she deserves."

Strikers Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton, Marie-Ève Jacques of Sherbrooke and Pilar Khoury of Ottawa were the other nominees.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Mélissa Roy, Laval

Roy is the third Laval player to be named CIS rookie of the year, following strikers Marie-Ève Laflamme, who was the inaugural recipient of the award in 1996, and Lisa Nolet in 1998.

A native of Lévis, Que., Roy was a sought-after recruit out of CEGEP (F.-X. Garneau) and she lived up to the billing. Inserted in the starting lineup from day one, she was a key factor as the Rouge et Or maintained a superb 13-1 record in the regular season while finishing first in the RSEQ conference in both goals scored (48) and fewest goals against (8).

Already considered the cornerstone of the Laval defence, Roy also contributed three goals and two assists in league action and was named player of the game on two occasions. Her stellar play earned her a spot on the first all-Canadian team, a rare feat for a freshman.

"Mélissa is one of the players who helped transform our team this year, particularly thanks to her work ethic and her presence," said Laval head coach Helder Duarte. "She excels at both ends of the pitch and her speed is one of her best assets. You rarely see a lateral defender stand out as much as she does. It's a testament to her talent."

Memorial striker Emily Bailey, Laurier defender Pauline McCordic and Trinity Western striker Seina Kashima were also in the running.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Caoimhe McParland, Acadia

McParland, a fourth-year cornerback from Halifax, is the third Acadia player in four years to receive the CIS student-athlete community service award, following Alana Fairfax in 2012 and Cathleen Bleakney in 2011.

Boasting a current GPA of 3.97 and an overall GPA of 3.96 in science, McParland is an exemplary student-athlete, balancing athletics, academics and extensive community involvement.

She has been heavily involved with the Acadia chapter of the Global Medical Brigades (GMB) since it was founded in 2011, serving this year as treasurer and recently taking on the role of vice president of medical. GMB is a student-led global health and sustainable development organization and the Acadia chapter organizes yearly missions in Honduras.

This past year, McParland secured a $500 grant from Doctors Nova Scotia to help offset the costs of providing a mental health first aid course to Acadia's resident assistants and other staff in front-line positions.

The long list of programs and organizations she volunteers with also includes the Acadia S.M.I.L.E. program (Sensory Motor Instructional Learning Experience), the Wolfville nursing home, Kinderskills Acadia, the Acadia Mental Health Society, Hants Community Hospital, Acadia's WITS anti-bullying program, the Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech centre, as well as the Stephen Lewis Foundation's 'Dare Campaign'.

"The most remarkable thing about Caoimhe is that you may know she is a very good player, and it doesn't take long to understand how strong she is academically, but her impact on the community largely goes unnoticed because she just contributes as part of her daily life," said Axewomen head coach Amit Batra. "Giving is her habit and her impact on the community is enormous. The fact that she is being recognized amongst so many great candidates exemplifies and speaks to what so many student-athletes do."

The other nominees were Laval striker Mélissande Guy, UOIT striker Jessica Mithrush and Fraser Valley goalkeeper Kayla Klim.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Peyvand Mossavat, UOIT

Mossavat joined UOIT in 2012 to launch the Ridgebacks program after eight years of coaching the Ryerson Rams and York Lions. He is the winningest coach in Ryerson women's soccer history and is now a three-time OUA division coach of the year (2007, 2012, 2014).

This season, the Ridgebacks opened conference play with a 3-2 upset of perennial powerhouse Ottawa and never looked back, cruising to second place in the OUA East with a sparkling 12-2-2 record. They cracked the national top 10 in the third week of the campaign, becoming the first UOIT team in any sport to accomplish the feat, and were ranked the rest of the way, reaching a season-high of No. 4 in mid-October.

Mossavat, who earlier this year was announced as head coach of the Canadian women's soccer entry for the 2015 Summer Universiade in South Korea, then guided his troops to their first OUA Final Four appearance, their first OUA medal (bronze) and their first CIS championship appearance.

As a player, Mossavat was a member of the Canadian Olympic program, represented Canada in 1993 in the World University Games and was a five-time all-star in the Canadian Professional Soccer League.

"Peyvand has done an outstanding job with this program, putting UOIT on the radar early in our school's history," said Scott Barker, UOIT's manager of intercollegiate athletics. "His success on the field isn't the only important attribute to the school, but his focus on community involvement and each player becoming a well-rounded person is something to be admired. When the program started three years ago, we could never have imagined that we would have this much success so quickly. That success is a direct result of Peyvand and his staff's hard work, passion and dedication to the sport."

UNB's Jonathan Crossland, Laval's Helder Duarte and Trinity Western's Graham Roxburgh were the other nominees.

ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS:

The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday with reigning two-time CIS champion Trinity Western leading the way with three selections.

Joining King and Roy on the first unit were Alberta goalkeeper Kelti Biggs, defenders Jennifer Castillo of Trinity Western and Emily Nickerson of Acadia, midfielders Michelle Yates of Dalhousie and Sarah Wong of York, as well as strikers Nour Ghoneim of York, Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton, Marie-Ève Jacques of Sherbrooke and Pilar Khoury of Ottawa.  

The second squad is comprised of Ottawa keeper Cynthia Leblanc, defenders Mélissa Gougeon of Montreal and Anna Schellenberg of Alberta, midfielders Arielle Roy-Petitclerc of Laval, Vanessa Kovacs of TWU, Jessie De Boer of Queen's, Victoria Parkinson of Dalhousie and Constance de Chantal Dumont of Montreal, as well as forwards Jessie Noseworthy of Memorial, Emma Greig of Victoria and Emily Brown of Laurier.

Blain (2011, 2013-2014) and Brown (2012-2013-2014) both became three-time all-Canadians, while Nickerson, Wong, Jacques, Roy-Petitclerc, Kovacs and Leblanc were all honoured for the second straight season.

Jacques was the Chantal Navert Award winner as CIS MVP in 2013.

CIS WOMEN'S SOCCER: 2014 AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Chantal Navert Memorial Award (player of the year): Jessica King, Trinity Western

Rookie of the year: Mélissa Roy, Laval

Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Caoimhe McParland, Acadia

Coach of the year: Peyvand Mossavat, UOIT

First Team

Pos.     Athlete                      University       Year    Hometown                  Academic Program   

G         Kelti Biggs                   Alberta             5          Spruce Grove, Alta.     PE & Recreation

D         Jennifer Castillo           TWU                5          Surrey, B.C.                 Human Kinetics

D         Mélissa Roy                 Laval               1          Lévis, Que.                  Orientation

D         Emily Nickerson          Acadia             2          Coldbrook, N.S.           Kinesiology

M         Michelle Yates             Dalhousie        5          Fall River, N.S.                        Science

M         Sarah Wong                 York                4          Toronto, Ont.               Kin. & Health Science

M/S      Jessica King                 TWU                5          Liverpool, England      Psychology

S          Marie-Ève Jacques       Sherbrooke      3          Sherbrooke, Que.         Business Admin.

S          Pilar Khoury                Ottawa             4          Ottawa, Ont.                Health Sciences

S          Karolyne Blain            Cape Breton     4          Sudbury, Ont.              Science

S          Nour Ghoneim             York                3          Aurora, Ont.                Psychology

Second Team

G         Cynthia Leblanc           Ottawa             4          Granby, Que.               Social Work

D         Mélissa Gougeon         Montreal          2          Laval, Que.                  Physiotherapy

D         Anna Schellenberg       Alberta             4          Edmonton, Alta.          PE & Recreation

M         Arielle Roy-Petitclerc   Laval               2          St. Nicolas, Que.          Sports Intervention     

M         Vanessa Kovacs          TWU                4          North Delta, B.C.         Business

M         Jessie De Boer             Queen's           4          North Vancouver, B.C.            P. & Health Education

M         Victoria Parkinson       Dalhousie        3          Halifax, N.S.                Nursing

M         Constance De Chantal Dumont            Montreal          3          St. Alexandre, Que.     Physiotherapy

S          Jessie Noseworthy       Memorial         2          St. John's, Nfld.                       Nursing

S          Emma Greig                 Victoria            4          Tofino, B.C.                Science

S          Emily Brown               Laurier             4          Waterloo, Ont.             Business