1 November 2024

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Premier Division stars celebrated in 2024 awards

Samantha Murphy sweeps three women’s accolades as the end-of-season honours and All-Star teams are announced.

Awards graphic

The 2024 League1 Ontario awards saw forwards Samantha Murphy and Tomasz Skublak crowned as this year’s Most Valuable Players after standout seasons at the Pro-Am level.

It’s the second time in two years that Skublak has been crowned the men’s MVP, having picked up the award last year after leading the division’s scoring charts. His impact continued into 2024 with 12 goals and a talismanic influence in Scrosoppi’s trophy-winning season.

Meanwhile, Murphy had a similar impact for Woodbridge Strikers by scoring 18 goals in 16 Women’s Premier Division games, helping her side to a fourth-placed finish in a competitive table. She also took home the Forward of the Year award and the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer.

It was a very competitive season for awards after so many fantastic individual and team performances. The three finalists for each award, and the eventual winners and All-Star teams, were determined by a culmination of factors: a list of nominees were submitted by each club for each category and a voting ballot took place across coaches and league staff. Those votes were then combined with points awarded to players who were selected by coaches as one of the “Three Stars” of each match in the 2024 Men’s and Women’s Premier Division season.

 

Women’s round-up

Women’s champions NDC Ontario collected several individual honours, including Noelle Henning being named Goalkeeper of the Year and Jadea Collin being crowned Defender of the Year as two key players in the league’s best defence. Rising talent Teegan Melenhorst was also recognized as the Young (U20) Player of the Year.

FC London’s Julia Benati and Garrett Peters picked up the Midfielder and Coach of the Year honours respectively after they led the club to second in the division standings, also winning the L1 Cup, with Benati netting 11 goals from the centre of the field.

Men’s round-up

There were eight different winners across the eight end-of-season awards in the Men’s Premier Division. As well as Skublak being named MVP, Scrosoppi coach John Yacou was crowned Coach of the Year after guiding his side to 16 wins and one loss all season.

After 15 goals in 15 games for Sigma, 18-year-old Kevaughn Tavernier was recognized as the league’s Young (U20) Player of the Year and another potential star in Canadian soccer.

Experienced Alliance United shot-stopper Lucas Birnstingl was voted the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Adam Czerkawski was crowned Defender of the Year after another impressive season with Birnstingl’s former club, Blue Devils.

Jacob Begley played every game in Vaughan Azzurri’s Premier Division title pursuit, ultimately finishing second in the standings but winning the L1 Cup. Teammate Reshaun Walkes also played a key part in Vaughan’s success, scoring 18 goals in 20 Premier matches, including eight in the last two games of the season to win the Golden Boot.

Lining up for Vaughan’s L1 Cup Final opponents Simcoe was Jevontae Layne, who led his team with 13 goals and was voted as the Men’s Premier Division’s Forward of the Year.

Roll of Honour – 2024 Premier Division Finalists

MVP – Finalists

Jade Kovacevic – North Toronto
Samantha Murphy – Woodbridge Strikers
April Lantaigne – NDC Ontario

Tomasz Skublak – Scrosoppi
Reshaun Walkes – Vaughan Azzurri
Fadi Salback – North Toronto

Young (U20) Player of the Year – Finalists

Alanna Raimondo – Vaughan Azzurri
Teegan Melenhorst – NDC Ontario
Kaia Rice – North Toronto

Matthew Paiva – Scrosoppi
Kevaughn Tavernier – Sigma
Jacob Spizzirri – Woodbridge Strikers

Coach of the Year – Finalists

Garrett Peters – FC London (Women)
Billy Wilson – North Toronto (Women)
Dave Porco – Woodbridge Strikers (Women)

Peter Pinizzotto – Woodbridge Strikers (Men)
Carmine Isacco – Vaughan Azzurri (Men)
John Yacou – Scrosoppi (Men)

Goalkeeper of the Year – Finalists

Noelle Henning – NDC Ontario
Gurleen Toor – Alliance United
Mollie Eriksson – North Mississauga

Dino Bontis – Sigma
Jared Maloney – Scrosoppi
Lucas Birnstingl – Alliance United

Defender of the Year – Finalists

Sarah Rollins – North Toronto
Jadea Collin – NDC Ontario
Bryanna Caldwell – FC London

Mathieu Laurent – Vaughan Azzurri
Adam Czerkawski – Blue Devils
Nirun Sivananthan – Alliance United

Midfielder of the Year – Finalists

Julia Benati – FC London
Teegan Melenhorst – NDC Ontario
Caitlin Crichton – Guelph United

Jacob Carlos – Scrosoppi
Jacob Begley – Vaughan Azzurri
Jacob Spizzirri – Woodbridge Strikers

Forward of the Year – Finalists

Jade Kovacevic – North Toronto
Samantha Murphy – Woodbridge Strikers
Annabelle Chukwu – NDC Ontario

Jevontae Layne – Simcoe County Rovers
Tomasz Skublak – Scrosoppi
Reshaun Walkes – Vaughan Azzurri

Honourable Mentions:

Women’s:
Gurleen Toor (GK) – Alliance United
Haley Ward (D) – Guelph United
Kathleen Kimens (D) – Vaughan Azzurri
Brooke-Lynne Mitchell (D) – Vaughan Azzurri
Ava Elgood (MF) – Blue Devils
Chloe Uddenberg (MF) – Simcoe County Rovers
Ravina Braich (MF) – North Mississauga
Courtney Poon (MF) – North Toronto
Ava Greco (MF) – NDC Ontario
Olivia Rizakos (FW) – Guelph United
Aliya Gomes (FW) – Simcoe County Rovers

Men’s:
Samuel Diltz (GK) – ProStars
Matthew Paiva (D) – Scrosoppi
Cameron DaSilva (D) – Simcoe County Rovers
Markus Pusztahegyi (D) – Guelph United
Tajay Reid (D) – Simcoe County Rovers
Atchu Sivananthan (MF) – Alliance United
Pablo Hempelmann-Perez (MF) – Alliance United
Javier Goerge (MF) – Simcoe County Rovers
Andres Delascio (MF) – Sigma
Ronaldo Marshall (FW) – Woodbridge Strikers
Luca Di Marco (FW) – North Toronto

Published On: 1 November 2024

League1 Ontario staff