Blain, McNeill named to All-Canadian teams
November 7, 2013
Marie-Ève Jacques, a sophomore striker from the University of Sherbrooke, was named CIS player of the year in women's soccer, Wednesday night.
The Sherbrooke, Que., native became the first Vert & Or player to claim the Chantal Navert Memorial Award, a trophy presented since 1995 in memory of the late soccer official who was a strong advocate of women's soccer in the Sherbrooke community.
Other national award winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet held at the Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel were Western defender Jenna White, who was named rookie of the year; Alberta striker Julia Ignacio, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award; as well as Western's Martin Painter, who merited coach-of-the-year honours.
The 2013 CIS championship gets under way Thursday at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium and culminates Sunday with the national final set for 4:30 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): Marie-Ève Jacques, Sherbrooke
After leading the Vert & Or to their first national championship appearance in two decades as a freshman in 2012, Jacques became the most prolific striker in CIS women's soccer in her sophomore season.
In 14 league matches this fall, the product of CEGEP de Sherbrooke scored a remarkable 21 goals, more than doubling the total of her closest RSEQ rivals (10), and added 11 assists to win the conference scoring race by a comfortable 12-point margin. Behind her stellar play, the Vert & Or took second place in the Quebec conference with a 10-3-1 mark and were the highest-scoring team in the country during the regular schedule with an average of 3.5 goals per contest.
Named a first-team league all-star for the second straight campaign, the 2012 RSEQ rookie of the year was voted to the first all-Canadian squad this season, to go with her national MVP title.
A former member of the Quebec provincial under-16 and U18 programs, Jacques has also excelled at the club level in recent years, receiving the "Ballon d'or" in the Quebec senior AAA league in 2011 and being named the top elite player in the province in 2010. A sign of things to come, she was the MVP of the RSEQ's indoor season last winter.
"Thanks to her physical, technical and tactical qualities, as well as her desire to push her limits, Marie-Ève is an indispensable part of our Vert & Or program," said head coach Louis Provencher. "She is truly an exceptional player. As well, she always has kind words for her teammates, she's a real team player."
Strikers Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton, Emily Brown of Wilfrid Laurier and Julia Ignacio of Alberta were the other nominees for the Chantal Navert Award.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jenna White, Western
White is the second Mustang to claim CIS rookie-of-the-year honours since the inception of the award in 1996. Cristina Bonasia was the recipient in 2001.
The science student from Winnipeg started every game in her first university season and immediately became a key part of a defensive unit that allowed an OUA-low eight goals in 16 conference matches and tied for the CIS lead with a 0.50 goals against average. Thanks in large part to their super freshman, the Mustangs remained undefeated throughout the regular schedule (11-0-5) for the first time in program history.
Her standout performance on defence earned White a spot on the first OUA West all-star team.
"Jenna has been a great addition for the squad this year," said head coach Martin Painter. "She plays with great intelligence and maturity and has been a strong presence for us at the back all year. Jenna has a great balance of composure and intensity which makes her very effectively defensively. Her range of passing and vision also makes her very effective in moving the ball, and most impressive, she has shown toughness, consistency and leadership that are outstanding."
Acadia defender Emily Nickerson, Laval defender Arielle Roy-Petitclerc and UBC striker Jasmin Dhanda were also in the running for the award.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
Ignacio is the third member of the Pandas to claim the Student-Athlete Community Service Award since it was first handed out in 2005. She joins Jacqueline Smith (2008) and Veronique Mayer (2009) as recipients from the U of A.
In her first season of CIS play, after transferring from the University of Memphis, the education student from Edmonton helped the Pandas to a 9-1-2 record and second place in the ultra-competitive Canada West conference with a league-best 10 goals and 19 points. For her efforts, the former Team Canada under-17 player, who represented the country at last summer's Universiade in Russia, was named conference MVP and a first-team all-Canadian.
In the community, her soccer contributions include being a Youth Program instructor / coach with the soccer associations in St. Albert and Sherwood Park, the Alberta Mini Stars Program, and the Archbishop O'Leary High School Soccer Academy. She also has volunteered once a week over the past three years as Volunteer Children's Liturgy Leader as well as Volunteer Lector at St. Charles Parish. She was an assistant coach with NAIT in the CCAA in 2012 and for the Team Alberta U14 team this summer.
"If you were to ask for an example of the best qualities of a CIS student-athlete, I would readily present Julia Ignacio," stated Alberta coach Liz Jepsen. "She is talented, inspirational, and conducts herself with a high degree of dedication, grace, and humility. She has impacted the program from the minute she joined and will leave a legacy despite her short time with us. Her play on the pitch, her leadership, and, of equal importance, the fact that she wears her heart on her sleeve, makes her a hero in our community. Julia has been an outstanding student-athlete in the program and I am certain she will continue to add in an exceptional nature in every endeavour in her bright future."
The other nominees for the award were Acadia's Alana Fairfax, UQTR's Stéphany Denault and Toronto's Caroline Murphy.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Martin Painter, Western
Painter became the third Western bench boss to be named CIS coach of the year in women's soccer, after Mark Eys in 2001 and Sheri Kitching-Fowler in 1997.
In only his second season at the helm, Painter led the Mustangs to a first-place finish in the OUA West division thanks to a stellar 11-0-5 record. His troops were one of only two teams in the country to end league play with an undefeated mark and were ranked No. 1 in the final national coaches' poll of the campaign, on Oct. 29. Western's 39-8 goal differential in conference action was the second best in CIS.
A former Western all-star and a member of the 1999 CIS championship men's squad, Painter returned to his alma mater in late 2011 to take over the women's program. He inherited a team that went 3-10-1 in the fall of 2011 and immediately operated an impressive turnaround, guiding the Mustangs to a 10-4-2 season a year ago.
"Martin has brought our women's soccer program to a new level since re-joining the Mustangs at the end of 2011," said Thérèse Quigley, Director of Sport and Recreation Services. "In only his second season as head coach he has made a significant impact at Western and in CIS soccer. His knowledge of the game, his ability to inspire young talented student athletes and his competitive instincts are remarkable."
Cape Breton's Stephen Timmons, Montreal's Kevin McConnell and Victoria's Tracy David were the other nominees.
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS:
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.
Joining Jacques and Ignacio on the first unit were Ottawa goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc, defenders Brigitte Greig of Victoria, Kelsey Wilson of McGill and Kristy McGregor-Bales of Dalhousie, midfielders Julia Francki of Ottawa, Vanessa Kovacs of Trinity Western and Sarah Wong of York, as well as strikers Emily Brown of Laurier and Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton.
The second dream squad is comprised of UBC keeper Alyssa Williamson, defenders Diana Esteireiro of Toronto, Shalla Kadima of Alberta and Virginie Lévesque of Montreal, midfielders Laura Chénard of Montreal, Robbyn McNeill of Cape Breton, Joanna Blodgett of Dalhousie and Jaclyn Sawicki of Victoria, as well as Trinity Western forward Krista Gommeringer.
Brown (2012), Blain (2011), Kadima (2010), McNeill (2012), Sawicki (2011) and Gommeringer (2012) all became two-time CIS all-stars.
CIS WOMEN'S SOCCER: 2013 AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Chantal Navert Memorial Award (player of the year): Marie-Ève Jacques, Sherbrooke
Rookie of the year: Jenna White, Western
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
Coach of the year: Martin Painter, Western
G Cynthia Leblanc Ottawa 3 Granby, Que. Social Work
D Brigitte Greig Victoria 5 Parksville, B.C. Human & Social Dev.
D Kelsey Wilson McGill 4 Pincourt, Que. Arts
D Kristy McGregor-Bales Dalhousie 3 Ottawa, Ont. Recreation
M Julia Francki Ottawa 3 Orleans, Ont. Communications
M Vanessa Kovacs Trinity Western 3 North Delta., B.C. Business
M Sarah Wong York 3 Toronto, Ont. Kinesiology & HS
S Julia Ignacio Alberta 4 Edmonton, Alta. Education
S Emily Brown Wilfrid Laurier 3 Waterloo, Ont. Business
S Marie-Ève Jacques Sherbrooke 2 Sherbrooke, Que. Business Admin.
S Karolyne Blain Cape Breton 3 Copper Cliff, Ont. Science
Second Team
G Alyssa Williamson UBC 3 Langley, B.C. Kinesiology
D Emily Nickerson Acadia 1 Coldbrook, N.S. Kinesiology
D Arielle Roy-Petitclerc Laval 1 Quebec City, Que. Physical Education
D Diana Esteireiro Toronto 5 Etobicoke, Ont. English
D Shalla Kadima Alberta 5 Edmonton, Alta. Science
D Virginie Lévesque Montreal 5 Montreal, Que. Civil Engineering
M Laura Chénard Montreal 3 Sainte-Luce, Que. Communications
M Robbyn McNeill Cape Breton 5 Kentville, N.S. Science
M Joanna Blodgett Dalhousie 5 Ottawa, Ont. Science
M Jaclyn Sawicki Victoria 4 Coquitlam, B.C. Education
S Krista Gommeringer Trinity Western 2 Calgary, Alta. General
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations 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 or follow us on:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CIS_SIC
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cissports
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/universitysport
The Sherbrooke, Que., native became the first Vert & Or player to claim the Chantal Navert Memorial Award, a trophy presented since 1995 in memory of the late soccer official who was a strong advocate of women's soccer in the Sherbrooke community.
Other national award winners announced during the All-Canadian Banquet held at the Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel were Western defender Jenna White, who was named rookie of the year; Alberta striker Julia Ignacio, who received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award; as well as Western's Martin Painter, who merited coach-of-the-year honours.
The 2013 CIS championship gets under way Thursday at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium and culminates Sunday with the national final set for 4:30 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): Marie-Ève Jacques, Sherbrooke
After leading the Vert & Or to their first national championship appearance in two decades as a freshman in 2012, Jacques became the most prolific striker in CIS women's soccer in her sophomore season.
In 14 league matches this fall, the product of CEGEP de Sherbrooke scored a remarkable 21 goals, more than doubling the total of her closest RSEQ rivals (10), and added 11 assists to win the conference scoring race by a comfortable 12-point margin. Behind her stellar play, the Vert & Or took second place in the Quebec conference with a 10-3-1 mark and were the highest-scoring team in the country during the regular schedule with an average of 3.5 goals per contest.
Named a first-team league all-star for the second straight campaign, the 2012 RSEQ rookie of the year was voted to the first all-Canadian squad this season, to go with her national MVP title.
A former member of the Quebec provincial under-16 and U18 programs, Jacques has also excelled at the club level in recent years, receiving the "Ballon d'or" in the Quebec senior AAA league in 2011 and being named the top elite player in the province in 2010. A sign of things to come, she was the MVP of the RSEQ's indoor season last winter.
"Thanks to her physical, technical and tactical qualities, as well as her desire to push her limits, Marie-Ève is an indispensable part of our Vert & Or program," said head coach Louis Provencher. "She is truly an exceptional player. As well, she always has kind words for her teammates, she's a real team player."
Strikers Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton, Emily Brown of Wilfrid Laurier and Julia Ignacio of Alberta were the other nominees for the Chantal Navert Award.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jenna White, Western
White is the second Mustang to claim CIS rookie-of-the-year honours since the inception of the award in 1996. Cristina Bonasia was the recipient in 2001.
The science student from Winnipeg started every game in her first university season and immediately became a key part of a defensive unit that allowed an OUA-low eight goals in 16 conference matches and tied for the CIS lead with a 0.50 goals against average. Thanks in large part to their super freshman, the Mustangs remained undefeated throughout the regular schedule (11-0-5) for the first time in program history.
Her standout performance on defence earned White a spot on the first OUA West all-star team.
"Jenna has been a great addition for the squad this year," said head coach Martin Painter. "She plays with great intelligence and maturity and has been a strong presence for us at the back all year. Jenna has a great balance of composure and intensity which makes her very effectively defensively. Her range of passing and vision also makes her very effective in moving the ball, and most impressive, she has shown toughness, consistency and leadership that are outstanding."
Acadia defender Emily Nickerson, Laval defender Arielle Roy-Petitclerc and UBC striker Jasmin Dhanda were also in the running for the award.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
Ignacio is the third member of the Pandas to claim the Student-Athlete Community Service Award since it was first handed out in 2005. She joins Jacqueline Smith (2008) and Veronique Mayer (2009) as recipients from the U of A.
In her first season of CIS play, after transferring from the University of Memphis, the education student from Edmonton helped the Pandas to a 9-1-2 record and second place in the ultra-competitive Canada West conference with a league-best 10 goals and 19 points. For her efforts, the former Team Canada under-17 player, who represented the country at last summer's Universiade in Russia, was named conference MVP and a first-team all-Canadian.
In the community, her soccer contributions include being a Youth Program instructor / coach with the soccer associations in St. Albert and Sherwood Park, the Alberta Mini Stars Program, and the Archbishop O'Leary High School Soccer Academy. She also has volunteered once a week over the past three years as Volunteer Children's Liturgy Leader as well as Volunteer Lector at St. Charles Parish. She was an assistant coach with NAIT in the CCAA in 2012 and for the Team Alberta U14 team this summer.
"If you were to ask for an example of the best qualities of a CIS student-athlete, I would readily present Julia Ignacio," stated Alberta coach Liz Jepsen. "She is talented, inspirational, and conducts herself with a high degree of dedication, grace, and humility. She has impacted the program from the minute she joined and will leave a legacy despite her short time with us. Her play on the pitch, her leadership, and, of equal importance, the fact that she wears her heart on her sleeve, makes her a hero in our community. Julia has been an outstanding student-athlete in the program and I am certain she will continue to add in an exceptional nature in every endeavour in her bright future."
The other nominees for the award were Acadia's Alana Fairfax, UQTR's Stéphany Denault and Toronto's Caroline Murphy.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Martin Painter, Western
Painter became the third Western bench boss to be named CIS coach of the year in women's soccer, after Mark Eys in 2001 and Sheri Kitching-Fowler in 1997.
In only his second season at the helm, Painter led the Mustangs to a first-place finish in the OUA West division thanks to a stellar 11-0-5 record. His troops were one of only two teams in the country to end league play with an undefeated mark and were ranked No. 1 in the final national coaches' poll of the campaign, on Oct. 29. Western's 39-8 goal differential in conference action was the second best in CIS.
A former Western all-star and a member of the 1999 CIS championship men's squad, Painter returned to his alma mater in late 2011 to take over the women's program. He inherited a team that went 3-10-1 in the fall of 2011 and immediately operated an impressive turnaround, guiding the Mustangs to a 10-4-2 season a year ago.
"Martin has brought our women's soccer program to a new level since re-joining the Mustangs at the end of 2011," said Thérèse Quigley, Director of Sport and Recreation Services. "In only his second season as head coach he has made a significant impact at Western and in CIS soccer. His knowledge of the game, his ability to inspire young talented student athletes and his competitive instincts are remarkable."
Cape Breton's Stephen Timmons, Montreal's Kevin McConnell and Victoria's Tracy David were the other nominees.
ALL-CANADIAN TEAMS:
The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Wednesday.
Joining Jacques and Ignacio on the first unit were Ottawa goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc, defenders Brigitte Greig of Victoria, Kelsey Wilson of McGill and Kristy McGregor-Bales of Dalhousie, midfielders Julia Francki of Ottawa, Vanessa Kovacs of Trinity Western and Sarah Wong of York, as well as strikers Emily Brown of Laurier and Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton.
The second dream squad is comprised of UBC keeper Alyssa Williamson, defenders Diana Esteireiro of Toronto, Shalla Kadima of Alberta and Virginie Lévesque of Montreal, midfielders Laura Chénard of Montreal, Robbyn McNeill of Cape Breton, Joanna Blodgett of Dalhousie and Jaclyn Sawicki of Victoria, as well as Trinity Western forward Krista Gommeringer.
Brown (2012), Blain (2011), Kadima (2010), McNeill (2012), Sawicki (2011) and Gommeringer (2012) all became two-time CIS all-stars.
CIS WOMEN'S SOCCER: 2013 AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS
Chantal Navert Memorial Award (player of the year): Marie-Ève Jacques, Sherbrooke
Rookie of the year: Jenna White, Western
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Julia Ignacio, Alberta
Coach of the year: Martin Painter, Western
First Team
Pos. Athlete University Year Hometown Faculty
G Cynthia Leblanc Ottawa 3 Granby, Que. Social Work
D Brigitte Greig Victoria 5 Parksville, B.C. Human & Social Dev.
D Kelsey Wilson McGill 4 Pincourt, Que. Arts
D Kristy McGregor-Bales Dalhousie 3 Ottawa, Ont. Recreation
M Julia Francki Ottawa 3 Orleans, Ont. Communications
M Vanessa Kovacs Trinity Western 3 North Delta., B.C. Business
M Sarah Wong York 3 Toronto, Ont. Kinesiology & HS
S Julia Ignacio Alberta 4 Edmonton, Alta. Education
S Emily Brown Wilfrid Laurier 3 Waterloo, Ont. Business
S Marie-Ève Jacques Sherbrooke 2 Sherbrooke, Que. Business Admin.
S Karolyne Blain Cape Breton 3 Copper Cliff, Ont. Science
Second Team
G Alyssa Williamson UBC 3 Langley, B.C. Kinesiology
D Emily Nickerson Acadia 1 Coldbrook, N.S. Kinesiology
D Arielle Roy-Petitclerc Laval 1 Quebec City, Que. Physical Education
D Diana Esteireiro Toronto 5 Etobicoke, Ont. English
D Shalla Kadima Alberta 5 Edmonton, Alta. Science
D Virginie Lévesque Montreal 5 Montreal, Que. Civil Engineering
M Laura Chénard Montreal 3 Sainte-Luce, Que. Communications
M Robbyn McNeill Cape Breton 5 Kentville, N.S. Science
M Joanna Blodgett Dalhousie 5 Ottawa, Ont. Science
M Jaclyn Sawicki Victoria 4 Coquitlam, B.C. Education
S Krista Gommeringer Trinity Western 2 Calgary, Alta. General
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations 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 or follow us on:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CIS_SIC
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cissports
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/universitysport