VANCOUVER (U SPORTS) – University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer player Matteo Ventura was honoured as a U SPORTS All-Rookie team member, Nov. 7, as the national award winners were celebrated at the annual All-Canadian gala. Guelph striker Jace Kotsopoulos was honoured with the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy as U SPORTS men's soccer Player of the Year.
 
Past Award Winners
 
UBC midfielder Thomas Gardner captured the Lou Bilek award as Rookie of the Year, while UNBC forward Francesco Bartolillo earned the Student-Athlete Community Service Award for his outstanding contribution both on and off the playing field. Cape Breton bench boss Deano Morley received the Coach of the Year award for the second consecutive season.

Ventura scored 10 times in his first year as a Vike, putting him in a three-way tie for third overall in Canada West. The first-year led all rookies in goals and points, recording three assists to go along with this 10 goals. The Prince Rupert native started 13 games and saw game time in all 16 of the Vikes regular season games. 
 
Ventura's offensive output kept the Vikes in the Canada West playoff picture for the entire season until a loss on the final weekend of regular season play eliminated the Vikes from contention. 
 
With four more years of eligibility, Ventura will be surely be a centre piece of the Vikes offensive for many season to come.
 
The Vikes finished with a 5-8-3 record finishing in sixth place in the Canada West pacific division, two spots from the final playoff spot. 

JOE JOHNSON MEMORIAL TROPHY (Player of the Year): Jace Kotsopoulos, Guelph
LOU BILEK AWARD (Rookie of the Year): Thomas Gardner, UBC
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Francesco Bartolillo, UNBC
COACH OF THE YEAR: Deano Morley, Cape Breton

2018 U SPORTS MEN'S SOCCER ALL-CANADIANS
 
First Team
 

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	School	Elig.	Hometown	Program
GK	Connor	James	Alberta	5	Edmonton, Atla.	Business
D	Peter	Schaale	Cape Breton	3	Bernkastel-Kues, Germany	Business Admin.
D	Bila	Dicko-Raynauld	Laval	5	Montreal, Que.	Entrepreneurship
D	Daniel	Gogarty	York	5	Scarborough, Ont.	Business Economics
D	Tammer	Byrne	Fraser Valley	5	Abbotsford, B.C.	Kinesiology
M	Marcus	Campanile	Cape Breton	3	Edinburgh, U.K.	Community Studies
M	Dario	Conte	Carleton	2	Ottawa, Ont.	Economics
M	Thomas	Gardner	UBC	1	North Vancouver, B.C.	Arts
S	Jace	Kotsopoulos	Guelph	4	Burlington, Ont.	Economics
S	Frédéric	Lajoie-Gravelle	Montreal	5	Gatineau, Que.	Psychology and Sociology
S	Cory	Bent	Cape Breton	3	Preston, U.K.	Community Studies

 
Second Team
 

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	School	Elig.	Hometown	Program
GK	Nizar	Houhou	Laval	5	Melun, France	Phys. Ed & Health (Teaching)
D	Josh	Read	StFX	3	Bath, U.K.	Human Kinetics
D	Noah	Cunningham	Alberta	3	St. Alberta, Alta.	Education
D	Connor	Guilherme	UBC	3	Unionville, Ont.	Science
D	André	Bona	UQAM	5	Montreal, Que.	Environmental Sciences
M	Omar	Kreim	Montreal	3	Casablanca, Morocco	Law
M	Raheem	Rose	Ryerson	5	Toronto, Ont.	Arts & Contemporary Studies
M	Ramzi	Saim	McGill	2	Ile Bizard, Que.	Finance
S	Dan	Hayfield	StFX	4	Exeter, U.K.	Arts
S	Ajeej	Sarkaria	Alberta	3	Edmonton, Alta.	Business
S	Gabriel	Bitar	Carleton	2	Ottawa, Ont.	Arts

 
 
All-Rookie Team
 

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	School	Hometown	Program
S	Tristan	Nkoghe	UNB	Sherbrooke, Que.	Arts
M	Felly	Elonda	Moncton	St. John's, N.L.	Arts
M	Ayoub	Al Arabi	StFX	Halifax, N.S.	Human Kinetics
M	Thomas	Gardner	UBC	North Vancouver, B.C.	Arts
S	Nikolas	Baikas	Saskatchewan	Saskatoon, Sask.	Arts & Science
S	Matteo	Ventura	Victoria	Victoria, B.C.	Humanities
M	Pierre	Lamothe	Montreal	Greenfield Park, Que.	Physical & Health Ed.
S	Florian	Bettelli	McGill	Roquefort les Pins, France	Science (Math & Computer)
M	Jean-Philippe	Lévesque	Laval	Quebec City, Que.	Nutrition
S	Sebastian	Guerrieri	Waterloo	Oakville, Ont.	Arts
D	Kai	Martin	Ryerson	Toronto, Ont.	Business
D	Cheikh	Tchouambou	McMaster	Brampton, Ont.	Life Sciences