MONTREAL – Three members of the McGill University men's soccer team were among the laureates as the RSEQ conference has announced its honours.
Ibrahim Chami merited first team all-star status, while
Mujtaba Mirhasan was named to the second squad. Chami also earned RSEQ All-Rookie status, along with teammate
Maher Fares.
A 20-year-old Arts freshman from Laval, Que., Chami started all 12 regular season contests on the back end and played every minute. He was twice-named as his team's player of the game. The 5-foot-10, 166-pound defender had only one yellow card and no goals but played a key role in helping McGill finish tied for the second-best defensive record in the seven-team RSEQ conference, where the Redbirds allowed just 11 goals in 12 games. It was the team's fewest allowed in 13 years, dating back to 2011 when they also conceded 11 goals in a dozen contests. Chami was an all-star at the CEGEP level with Champlain College and has attended a number of training camps with the Lebanese national program.
"A great player with a lot of skill and a super attitude," said McGill head coach
Marc Mounicot. "Ibrahim is very serious when it comes to mental and physical preparation. He's a good student-athlete who acts like a pro player. He's the complete package."
Mirhasan, a 23-year-old software engineering student from Carignan, Que., was a magic man for McGill this season, scoring at key moments. He tallied a team-high five goals in a dozen games to rank fourth among the league's leading scorers. He was also credited with one assist. An imposing 6-foot-5, 180-pound striker, he was named twice as the team's player of the game. Among Mirhasan's goals this season was the tying marker in the 80th minute of a 1-1 draw against UQAM (Sept.1), the game-winner in injury time of a 1-0 victory over Concordia (Sept. 27) and another game-winning effort on a penalty kick in overtime for a 2-1 victory at UQTR in the conference semifinal (Oct. 25). A product of the Montreal Impact Academy, he is a first-year transfer from the NCAA's University of Vermont, where he played three seasons and made the America East Academic Honor Roll.
"A wonderful player who is elegant and has a nose for the net," said Mounicot. "Mujtaba is technically gifted with a beautiful left foot and is extremely smart."
Fares is a 19-year-old management freshman, majoring in finance, who hails from Brossard, on Montreal's south shore region. The 5-foot-11, 163-pound forward was McGill's second-leading scorer, despite missing two games to injury. He struck for four goals in 10 matches, had only one yellow card and was named as the team's player of the game in a 2-1 road victory at Sherbrooke (Sept. 6).
"Maher has a good personality with a great first touch," Mounicot said. "He is technically sharp, a solid player, a very hard worker and has what it takes to be a future captain on this team."
In voting conducted by the league's seven head coaches, UQTR's
Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, who won the league's scoring title with nine goals in 11 games, was named player of the year.
Samir Djeha of the Montreal Carabins was voted rookie of the year and Sherbrook's
David Harrison received the Leadership and Citizenship Award. Carabins head coach
Pat Raimondo, who once guided McGill to a national title in 1997, was named coach of the year for the 10th time in his lengthy career.
The division-leading Montreal Carabins took eight of 11 spots on the first team, which also included a pair of players from UQTR. The second dream team also included of two other members of the Carabins, along with three from Concordia, two from UQTR and one player apiece from Sherbrooke, Laval and UQAM.
The All-Rookie team featured a dozen players as a result in a tie on the voting. It was composed of three players apiece from the Carabins and Laval, plus two each from McGill and UQTR and one from Sherbrooke and UQAM.
| 2024 RSEQ Men's Soccer Major Awards & All-Stars |
|
| Player of the Year / Athlète par excellence |
| Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, UQTR |
| Rookie of the Year / Recrue de l'année |
| Samir Djeha, Montréal |
| Coach of the Year / Entraîneur de l'année |
| Pat Raimondo, Montréal |
| Leadership & Citizenship Award / Prix leadership et engagement social |
| David Harrison, Sherbrooke |
|
| First Team All-Stars / Première équipe d'étoiles |
| Joakim Milli, Montréal |
| Wesley Wandje-Djomze, Montréal |
| Doryan Soualem, UQTR |
| Émile Legault, Montréal |
| Ibrahim Chami, McGill |
| Quentin Paumier, Montréal |
| Sebastian Cobuzzi, Montréal |
| Montacer El-Harchali, Montréal |
| Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti, UQTR |
| Maxime Filion, Montréal |
| Samir Djeha, Montréal |
|
| Second team All-Stars / Deuxième équipe d'étoiles |
| Jordy Kerlegrand, Concordia |
| Zackiel Brault, Concordia |
| Ulric Bélanger, Montréal |
| Xavier Malo, Montréal |
| Thomas Sire, UQTR |
| Maxime Bourgeois , Sherbrooke |
| Gregory David, UQAM |
| Émile Boivin, UQTR |
| Lundon Browne, Concordia |
| Miharsan Mujtaba, McGill |
| Lukumbi Tshindaye, Laval |
|
| All-Rookie team / Équipe d'étoiles des recrues |
| Romain Bartoli, Laval |
| Ibrahim Chami, McGill |
| Jean Kinumbe, Sherbrooke |
| Ulric Bélanger, Montréal |
| Jonathan Robert, UQTR |
| Anis Kardoussi, Laval |
| Orene Cohen, Montréal |
| Dorhyen Rinaldi Demas, UQAM |
| Samir Djeha, Montréal |
| Lukumbi Tshindaye, Laval |
| Maher Fares, McGill |
| Raphaël Lacaille, UQTR |
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
