MSOC: Mount Royal's El Gandour named Player of the Year
VANCOUVER - After an outstanding season for the Mount Royal Cougars, Mohamed El Gandour was named the 2021 Canada West men's soccer Player of the Year on Thursday.
The third-year forward becomes the first Mount Royal Cougar to win the conference's Player of the Year award.
El Gandour led the Canada West in scoring with eight goals for his hometown Cougars. The Business major also led the conference in points, with 11.
The conference also announced three other individual major award winners on Thursday. Christian Rossi (TWU) was named the Rookie of the Year, Tobias Hyrich-Krueger was announced as the winner of the Student-Athlete Community Service Award, and Victoria's Bruce Wilson took home Coach of the Year honours.
The Victoria Vikes were also honoured as the winners of the Canada West Fair Play Award as the conference's least penalized team in the 2021 season.
MEN'S AWARD WINNERS
- Player of the Year: Mohamed El Gandour, Mount Royal Cougars
- Rookie of the Year: Christian Rossi, Trinity Western Spartans
- Student-Athlete Community Service: Tobias Hyrich-Krueger, Saskatchewan
- Coach of the Year: Bruce Wilson, Victoria Vikes
- Fair Play Award: Victoria Vikes
The Mount Royal Cougars are the hosts of the 2021 Final Four for the first time in their history after finishing in first-place in the Central Division.
The Cougars (6-1-3) will face the No. 2 seed out of the West Division, the UBC Thunderbirds (2-4-6). The semifinal match will kick off at 2:00 p.m. MDT in Calgary on Saturday.
In the first semifinal, it's the top seed out of the West Division, Victoria Vikes (6-3-3) taking on the No. 3 team out of the West Division, the Fraser Valley Cascades (4-3-5) at 11:00 a.m. MDT.
Sunday's bronze medal match is set for 11:00 a.m. MDT, with the championship to follow at 2:00 p.m. MDT. All four matches will be available live on Canada West TV Presented by Co-op.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Mohamed El Gandour, Mount Royal
Canada West leading scorer Mohamed El Gandour is the conference's 2021 Player of the Year.
El Gandour posted a conference best eight goals and 11 points for Mount Royal this season, leading the Cougars to a first-place finish in the Central Division and hosting rights for the Canada West Final Four.
The third-year forward started nine games for the Cougars, scoring in five of them. The Business student from Calgary, Alta. recorded two multi-goal performances including a hat-trick on October 16.
El Gandour is the first Cougar to win the men's soccer Canada West Player of the Year award and will now move forward as the conference's nominee for the national award looking to be the first winner from the Canada West since 2015.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Christian Rossi, Trinity Western
First-year Trinity Western University forward Christian Rossi is the 2021 Canada West Rookie of the Year after an impressive first season for the Spartans.
The Surrey, B.C. product started 10-of-12 matches for the Spartans this season, scoring a team-high five goals. Rossi's six points on the season were tied for sixth most in the conference.
Rossi is the third Spartan to win the award and will hope to be the third straight winner of the national award to come from the Canada West.
STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD - Tobias Hyrich-Krueger, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Huskies fifth-year midfielder Tobias Hyrich-Krueger has been recognized as the 2021 Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner for his contributions on and off the pitch.
Hyrich-Krueger is a two-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian and has been involved with the Huskie Athletics Council since 2018, including most recently joining the council's executive committee.
The Winnipeg, Man. Native has contributed in the Saskatoon community through the Read Saskatoon Program, the CJWW Radio Secret Santa Project, and as a coach with the Little Kicks Soccer Program.
On the field, the Hyrich-Krueger recorded three points for the Huskies this season.
Hyrich-Krueger becomes the fourth Huskie to win the conference award and will now move forward as the representative for the award at the national level looking to become the first Huskie to receive the U SPORTS honour.
COACH OF THE YEAR - Bruce Wilson, Victoria
For the 11th time in his career, Victoria Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson is the Canada West Coach of the Year.
In his 34th year as the head coach for the Vikes, Wilson led Victoria to a 6-3-3 record and a first-place finish in the conference's West Division. The Vikes won their quarter-final match and return to the Canada West Final Four looking for their 13th title in program history.
Under Wilson's guidance, the Vikes were also awarded the 2021 Canada West Fair Play award as the least penalized team in the conference.
It's a conference record 11th time that Wilson has been selected by his peers as the Coach of the Year. Wilson last won the award in 2011, while also picking up the award in 2008, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, and 1991.