BURLINGTON, Ont. - A pair of standout student-athletes from the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team were recognized on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 3) as Ontario University Athletics announced the all-stars and major award winners from the 2022 OUA men's soccer season.
Jack Sears and
Colin Gander were named OUA West First Team All-Stars after outstanding 2022 seasons with the University of Guelph men's soccer team.
Gryphons Men's Soccer 2022 OUA All-Stars
For a second consecutive season, Gryphon midfielder
Jack Sears has earned OUA All-Star status. The 21-year-old mathematical science major at the University of Guelph is currently in his fourth year of studies and third-year of eligibility with the Gryphons men's soccer team.
Named a vice-captain for the Gryphons for the 2022 season, Sears was once again one of the top midfielders in the entire conference, impacting the game at both ends of the pitch. The Ajax, Ontario native showed tremendous vision as a key distributor in the heart of the Gryphon lineup, while also finishing 2nd on the team in goals, scoring 4 times in 11 regular season games played. Included in the long list of 2022 highlights for
Jack Sears was a beautiful match-winning goal versus Brock on October 16, where Sears sent a beautiful strike from outside the 18-yard box past Brock's OUA West First Team All-Star goalkeeper, Taylor Miskolczi, in a 1-0 win for Guelph. Sears also helped lead the Gryphons to an opening round playoff win over the Brock Badgers on October 26, with Sears converting from the spot on the match-winning penalty to send the Gryphons through to the 2022 OUA quarterfinals (where they would fall 2-1 to the McMaster Marauders).
Colin Gander, a 22-year-old arts major at U of G, takes home the first OUA West First Team All-Star
honours of his Gryphon career after a sensational 2022 season with the Gryphs. Now in his third-year with the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer program, but just his second season of on-field action with the Gryphs (following the cancellation of the 2020 campaign), Gander established himself as one of the top wing backs in the country in 2022. Aside from contributing defensively, with Guelph conceding just 11 goals in 12 matches during the 2022 regular season, the Kitchener native was also a key piece of the Gryphon attack, providing service on Gryphon corner kicks and set pieces. Gander scored 3 goals during the regular season, helping Guelph finish the regular season in 3rd-place in the nine-team
OUA West Division standings with a record of 6-1-5 (wins-losses-draws). In the playoffs, Gander would continue to impress, setting up a
Leo Shrimpton goal in the opening round playoff win over Brock, then scoring from the penalty spot at McMaster in the OUA quarterfinals. Aside from his outstanding play at the collegiate level with the Gryphons, Gander has also impressed at the professional level. Back in January (2022), Collin Gander was selected 11th overall in the 2022 Canadian Premier League-U SPORTS Draft, making his professional debut with the Halifax Wanderers earlier this season before returning to U of G (note: players signed to CPL 'developmental contracts' are able to play with a CPL club in the spring and summer before returning to U SPORTS competition without effecting their U SPORTS eligibility).
For more information on the 2022 OUA men's soccer all-stars and major award winners, visit oua.ca.
OUA West Division | Major Award Winners
Most Valuable Player – Soji Olatoye, York
Coach of the Year – Carmine Isacco, York
Rookie of the Year – James Arango, Waterloo
Community Service Award – Justin Joseph, Waterloo
OUA West Division | OUA First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper – Taylor Miskolczi, Brock
Defender – Luka Frankovich, Waterloo
Defender – Colin Gander, Guelph
Defender – Milo Djuricic, York
Midfielder – Jack Sears, Guelph
Midfielder – Isaac Bradbury, York
Midfielder – Matheus Mello, Waterloo
Midfielder – Daniel Oshana, Western
Striker – Miles Green, McMaster
Striker – Soji Olatoye, York
Striker – Kevin Espiro, Waterloo
OUA West Division | OUA Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper – Ethan Cagalj, McMaster
Defender – Brandon Miranjie, Western
Defender – Viktor Kariuki, Brock
Defender – Perry Zorbas, Waterloo
Midfielder – Ahmad Mansour, McMaster
Midfielder – Nikolas Antolcic, Waterloo
Midfielder – Gianluca Spadafora, McMaster
Midfielder – Joe Mac, York
Striker – Jamu Iluya, Western
Striker – Sebastian Guerrieri, Waterloo
Striker – Devin Hernandez, Windsor
OUA East Division | Major Award Winners
Most Valuable Player – Christopher Campoli, Ontario Tech
Coach of the Year – Ramin Mohammadi, Ontario Tech
Rookie of the Year – Tadiji Vukas, Toronto
Community Service Award – Devin Doodnath, Nipissing
OUA East Division | OUA First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper – Gabriel Pastore, Nipissing
Defender – Jacob Begley, Ontario Tech
Defender – Christopher Malekos, Carleton
Defender – Tyrell Chambers, Nipissing
Defender – Christian Westlaken, TMU
Midfielder – Christopher Campoli, Ontario Tech
Midfielder – Scott Mazzotta, Carelton
Midfielder – Jack Collins, Nipissing
Midfielder – Luca Piccioli, Carleton
Striker – Justin Irwin, Ontario Tech
Striker – Luca Di Marco, TMU
OUA East Division | OUA Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper – Matthew Mattila, Ontario Tech
Defender – Nick Alie Day, Queen's
Defender – Ainsley Bryan, Trent
Defender – Kai Martin, TMU
Defender – Anthony White, Toronto
Midfielder – Juan Pablo Delgadillo, TMU
Midfielder – Trivine Esprit, Ontario Tech
Midfielder – Nicolas Patenaude, Laurentian
Midfielder – Shon Siegelwachs, Toronto
Striker – Andrea Gortana, Queen's
Striker – Henry Gagnon, RMC
