BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced the major award winners and all-star selections for the 2025 OUA women's soccer season on Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 29), with seven members of the Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team receiving conference-wide recognition, including
Olivia Rizakos being named OUA West MVP, Shane Campbell being named OUA West Coach of the Year and
McKenna Burt as the recipient of the OUA Community Service Award.
Gryphons Women's Soccer 2025 OUA West Major Award Winners
Olivia Rizakos – OUA West MVP (Forward)
McKenna Burt – OUA West Community Service Award (Midfielder)
Shayne Campbell – OUA West Coach of the Year
Gryphons Women's Soccer – 2025 OUA West First Team All-Stars
Katie Kimens (Defender)
Elise Bell (Midfielder)
Olivia Rizakos (Forward)
Olivia Brown (Forward)
Gryphons Women's Soccer – 2025 OUA West Second Team All-Stars
Rebecca Draeger (Midfielder)
Olivia Rizakos – OUA West MVP
An extraordinary season from
Olivia Rizakos sees her take home the 2025 OUA West Most Valuable Player award. The fourth-year forward and team captain has had an outstanding season helping lead her side to an OUA Championship game appearance and top spot in the OUA West division. The Toronto native was a goal scoring machine for the Gryphons, scoring 11 times (2nd in OUA) in the regular season while leading the conference with 9 assists and 20 points in 12 regular season games played. Rizakos has either scored or assisted for the Gryphons in 12 of her team's 14 games (including postseason) this season. She has a goal and an assist in her two playoff games. It had to be Rizakos who would score one of the most important goals of the season against Laurier in the OUA quarterfinals when she stepped up to the spot and buried it low in the corner in the 53rd minute to give her side the lead as they were able to make it hold up. Rizakos is one of the main focal points of the Gryphons attack that has scored the fourth-most goals (31) in the conference. Rizakos, who is currently in her fourth-year of eligibility while pursing her Masters in psychology at the University of Guelph, was also named an OUA All-Star for the third time in her Gryphon career. This is the second straight season in which Rizakos has been named to the OUA West First Team All-Stars. She was also named an OUA All-Star back in 2021.
McKenna Burt – OUA Community Service Award
For the sixth time in program history, a U of G women's soccer student-athlete has earned provincial recognition as the OUA's Community Service Award winner.
Fourth-year midfielder
McKenna Burt is this year's recipient of the OUA Community Service Award for her work on and off the pitch. The human kinetics major has been involved with
Motionball not only as our team representative but also as the U of G Motionball director, (Motionball is a national not-for-profit organization with a mandate to introduce the next generation of donors, volunteers, and sponsors to the Special Olympics movement through integrated social and sporting events). McKenna has helped increase awareness around the Motionball "No Good Way" slogan on campus, and she has coordinated a gameday experience for some of the local Special Olympics athletes at a recent Gryphons women's soccer game where the athletes took part in a halftime experience. Further, the Aurora native is a part of the Gryphons 'SAM' program (Student-Athlete Mentor) on campus, helping to tutor first-year student-athletes. She has also held a position at the local Guelph Soccer Club, helping with off-field strength and conditioning and some coaching of local rep teams. This past March, McKenna helped raise funds by participating in our Gryphons Department of Athletics
Bowl for Kids fundraiser in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Guelph. Burt has played an important role off the bench for the Gryphons women's soccer team this season, appearing in all 14 matches and scoring twice.
Shayne Campbell – OUA West Coach of the Year
For the fourth time in his nine seasons as the leader of the Gryphons women's soccer program, head coach
Shayne Campbell has been named
OUA West Coach of the Year.
For Campbell, this is the second consecutive season he has been honoured as the OUA West Coach of the Year. In his ninth season at the helm of the U of G women's soccer team, Campbell guided his side to the top spot in the OUA West division with a regular season record 8-1-3. The Gryphons would go on to defeat the Laurier Golden Hawks in the quarterfinals and the Queen's Gaels in the semifinals to advance to the OUA championship game against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday (Nov. 1). Campbell has now won the OUA West Coach of the Year award in 2018, 2021, 2024 and 2025. Back in 2017, his first season as head coach, Campbell led the Gryphons to their first OUA title in program history. Campbell and the Gryphons will now look to make it a second OUA banner in program history when they travel to the University of Toronto on Saturday afternoon.
Joining Rizakos on the list of OUA West All-Stars are a quintet of her Gryphon teammates. For the second straight season, third-year midfielder
Elise Bell has been named an OUA West First Team All-Star. The bio-medical science major has made the seamless transition to the midfield and spending last season at fullback for the Gryphons. Bell, in her 9 games played, has scored twice and assisted on three other goals this season. The Toronto native was a U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian a season ago. Fifth-year striker,
Olivia Brown, for the second time in her Gryphon career, has been named an OUA West First Team All-Star. The human kinetics major was last named a first team all-star back in 2022. The Guelph native was the 6th-leading scorer in the province, finding the net 7 times on the season. Brown also scored the go-ahead goal from the spot against Queen's her side's OUA semifinal win.
Katie Kimens rounds out Guelph's OUA West First Team All-Star selections. For Kimens, this is her first selection as an OUA West All-Star. The fourth-year defender and co-captain is a stabilizing force on the Gryphons backline, starting all 14 games as part of a group that conceded the third-fewest goals (10) in the OUA on the season. The bio-medical science major has two assists and found the back of the net twice on the year. Second-year midfielder
Rebecca Draeger has also earned recognition as an OUA West Second Team All-Star. The Waterloo native in her second season as a starter, has taken another step and solidified the Gryphon midfield. The bio-medical science major has started in all 14 of her team's games this season and has found the net three times including scoring in her team's semifinal match against Queen's. See below for a full list of OUA women's soccer all-stars and visit oua.ca for more information.
2025 OUA West Division Major Awards
Most Valuable Player: Olivia Rizakos, Guelph Gryphons
Coach of the Year: Shayne Campbell, Guelph Gryphons
Rookie of the Year: Shalagh Guha, McMaster Marauders
Community Service Award: McKenna Burt, Guelph Gryphons
Champion of EDI Award: Yvonne Barnes, Algoma Thunderbirds
2025 OUA West Division First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper: Samantha St. Croix, Western Mustangs
Defender: Katie Kimens, Guelph Gryphons
Defender: Avarie Thomas, Western Mustangs
Defender: Shalagh Guha, McMaster Marauders
Midfielder: Jade Abreo, McMaster Marauders
Midfielder: Elise Bell, Guelph Gryphons
Midfielder: Ashley Greco, Laurier Golden Hawks
Midfielder: Reese Fowler, Western Mustangs
Striker: Olivia Brown, Guelph Gryphons
Striker: Olivia Rizakos, Guelph Gryphons
Striker: Avery Comartin, Windsor Lancers
2025 OUA West Division Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper: Izzy Barrette, Windsor Lancers
Defender: Vanessa Reda, York Lions
Defender: Tamara Lisser, Laurier Golden Hawks
Defender: Tia Schaffer, Brock Badgers
Defender: Taya Johnson, Laurier Golden Hawks
Midfielder: Rebecca Draeger, Guelph Gryphons
Midfielder: Giuliana Paolella, York Lions
Midfielder: Sabrina Bisante, Brock Badgers
Striker: Jenna Parris, Brock Badgers
Striker: Sophia Saville, Western Mustangs
Striker: Nicole Astaiza, McMaster Marauders
2025 OUA East Division Major Awards
Most Valuable Player: Hannah Chown, Toronto Varsity Blues
Coach of the Year: Angelo Cavalluzzo, Toronto Varsity Blues
Rookie of the Year: Taylor Fazzari, TMU Bold
Community Service Award: Hannah Chown, Toronto Varsity Blues
Champion of EDI Award: Josée Jones, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
2025 OUA East Division First Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper: Brianna West, RMC Paladins
Defender: Emily Tierney, Nipissing Lakers
Defender: Mia Hollingsworth, Carleton Ravens
Defender: Hannah Chown, Toronto Varsity Blues
Midfielder: Nibo Dlamini, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Midfielder: Kendra Couto, Queen's Gaels
Midfielder: Annika Nolte, Nipissing Lakers
Midfielder: Mikayla Moser, Carleton Ravens
Striker: Gracie Somers, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Striker: Cassidy Brooks, Nipissing Lakers
Striker: Lauren Illman, Carleton Ravens
2025 OUA East Division Second Team All-Stars
Goalkeeper: Chloe Lachance Soula, Carleton Ravens
Defender: Maya Smith, Ottawa Gee-Gees
Defender: Tatiana Kayrouz, Queen's Gaels
Defender: Abbie Russell, Ontario Tech Ridgebacks
Defender: Bryanna Campbell, Toronto Varsity Blues
Midfielder: Emilija Lucic, Toronto Varsity Blues
Midfielder: Alicia McMurren, Nipissing Lakers
Midfielder: Natalie Moynihan, TMU Bold
Striker: Anne Yeomans, Toronto Varsity Blues
Striker: Seema Sakran, Queen's Gaels
Striker: Mattson Strickler, Queen's Gaels
