Les Rouges Ayman Soussi - MCAC Athlete of the Week for week ending Oct. 30, 2022
The #3 seed Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) Les Rouges (7-1-4 regular season record; 2-0 post-season) won the 2022 Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) men's soccer championship after an upset win over #1 seed Brandon University (BU) Bobcats by a 4-3 margin at Sportsplex Field on Sunday, October 30 in Brandon. Fourth year defender Ayman Soussi was recognized as Player of the Championship.
The Winnipeg native was a major reason for back-to-back upset victories during their conference championship run. His presence shut down the #2 seed Providence University College (PUC) Pilots in the semis in a 4-0 shutout result on Oct. 29. Soussi had a couple shots in that win and added another shot in the finals as he was a force on both defence and offence.
"Ayman this weekend showed a great deal of maturity on and off the field. He played with all his heart and gave it all out on the pitch. The passion and desire to win he demonstrated this weekend was an example to his teammates. He managed to shut down any offensive attempts from the opponent's wing and contributed greatly to the offensive with his distribution of the ball, "commented Sami Atoui, USB Assistant Coach.
"After knowing Ayman for multiple years, I can say I am truly proud of his performance this weekend and the player he has become. He wanted to ensure that he got a championship in his last year playing for Les Rouges and he did all it took to make sure he did his part in doing so."
USB have now captured the conference title fives times with this being the first one since 2017 (2014-17, 2022).
Les Rouges also is on a roll with a four game winning streak. The MCAC champion earned a berth into the 2022 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Soccer Championships hosted by Langara College in Langley, BC running from November 9-12. This is only the second time for MCAC representative at the Nationals and first for USB.
MCAC Athlete of the Week winners for 2022-23 season
Week 1 (ending Sept. 11, 2022)
WSOC: Sara Boissonneault – USB
MSOC: Jordi Haskerkehrer – USB
Week 2 (ending Sept. 18, 2022)
WSOC: Kendra Mansoff – ACC
MSOC: Camilo Rodriguez – BU
Week 3 (ending Sept. 25, 2022)
WSOC: Tara Boulanger – USB
MSOC: Johnathan Kohan – BU
Week 4 (ending Oct. 2, 2022)
WSOC: Ava Temple – PUC
MSOC: Matheus Souza – BU
Week 5 (ending Oct. 9, 2022)
WSOC: Tiegan Kroeker – CMU
MSOC: Kevin Lopez – ACC
Week 6 (ending Oct. 16, 2022)
WSOC: Kalyna Démaré – USB
MSOC: Garreth Rayner – PUC
Week 7 (ending Oct. 23, 2022)
WSOC: Katie Moniot – USB
MSOC: Sean Kirkpatrick – PUC
Week 8 (ending Oct. 30, 2022)
WSOC: Marijka Yashyshyn – USB
MSOC: Ayman Soussi – USB