VANCOUVER – Following a history filled regular season, the Canada West is honouring a trio of UBC Thunderbirds with major awards, highlighted by Sebastian Dzikowski earning 2023 Player of the Year.

First-year midfielder Brennen Fuerst has been named the Canada West Men's Soccer Rookie of the Year while teammate Chris Lee has been bestowed with the Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

Setting a program record with 15 goals, Dzikowski broke through in a big way this year, also setting a new single season conference record with 43 shots on target while helping lead the T-Birds to a remarkable 13-1-2 record.

The Calgary native scored at least once in ten of UBC's 16 regular season games, finishing with 19 points. The third-year forward also found the back of the net three times in last week's playoff victories over Calgary and Alberta, helping punch the T-Birds' ticket to Saturday's Canada West final which also earned the team a berth at next week's U SPORTS National Championship.



Dzikowski becomes the first Thunderbird to be named the conference's Player of the Year since his former teammates, Thomas Gardner, earned the honour in 2018.

Lee's impact on the pitch has been undeniable this season, starting in 15 games for the T-Birds and developing a reputation for being one of the top attacking defenders in the conference.

But his impact on his team, school and community has extended far beyond the field of competition. The North Vancouver product has been a regular volunteer for the Physical Activity Research Centre (PARC) for much of 2023. PARC is associated with ICORD, a world leading research centre on spinal cord research. From March through August of this year, Chris volunteered four hours each week at PARC, providing assistance to people with spinal cord injuries by aiding in adaptive equipment use while maintaining a safe and inclusive environment. In September, Chris was promoted in his volunteer role to a supervisory role, and he now volunteers ten hours each week at the facility.



He's also been active in building the game of soccer at the grassroots level. While playing with BC League 1 team Nautsa'mawt FC this past summer, Lee assisted with soccer camps for youth in remote Indigenous communities. During this time, Lee assisted with camps in both Alert Bay and Campbell River, B.C.

Lee has been named an Academic All Canadian in each of his first two years as a student-athlete and has a current overall GPA of 4.0.

Earning a starting role in UBC's season opener on a very deep team, Fuerst proved his worth as an impact player right from the start of training camp. The midfielder out of the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy program earned his first Canada West assist in his first game and scored the game winner against the defending U SPORTS champion WolfPack the following weekend, one of two goals on the season.



Fuerst dressed in 15 of UBC's 16 regular season games, starting in 14 of those along with logging heavy minutes and playing a key role in UBC's two playoff wins so far this fall.

The Calgary native is the second straight Thunderbird to win the conference's Rookie of the Year award after teammate Eric Lajeunesse earned the honour last season.

Dzikowski, Lee, Fuerst and the T-Birds are Calgary bound this weekend where they'll face the Mount Royal Cougars Saturday afternoon as they look for a sixth consecutive Canada West Championship.