Sebastian Dzikowski vs UBCO, Oct. 14, 2023
Bob Frid/UBC Thunderbirds

Men's Soccer Jeff Sargeant (UBC Communications)

Dzikowski named U SPORTS Player of the Year, Fuerst earns Rookie of the Year

SYDNEY, N.S. – Adding to what's already been an historic season for the UBC Thunderbirds, third-year forward Sebastian Dzikowski has been named the 2023 Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy winner as U SPORTS Player of the Year.

It was a heavy blue and gold presence Wednesday night at the All-Canadian banquet in Sydney, Nova Scotia, the host city for the 2023 U SPORTS National Championship which gets underway Thursday morning.

Brennen Fuerst was also honoured on stage as the 2023 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, the second straight Thunderbird to claim the Lou Bilek Award after Eric Lajeunesse last season.
 

Dzikowski and Lajenuesse were also named First Team All-Canadians while goalkeeper Bennett McKay landed a spot on the Second Team. Fuerst was also named to the 2023 All-Rookie squad.

"I'm thrilled for our two lads to be recognized for the seasons they've had, and they're really well deserved," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. "Both have been integral parts of our team from game one right through to now. We haven't had a Player of the Year for a long time and we've had a lot of good players come through our program, so it's nice to see Sebastian and our program recognized."

Setting a program record with 15 goals in the Canada West regular season, 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 the T-Birds' two playoff victories over Calgary and Alberta, helping punch the T-Birds' ticket to the Canada West final and the U SPORTS National Championship.

UBC at 2023 U SPORTS All-Canadian Banquet, Nov. 8, 2023

Dzikowski is the first Thunderbird to win the Joe Johnson Award since Aaron Richer in 2002. He is the fourth UBC player all-time to claim the most prestigious national men's soccer award.

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 as well as the conference quarter-final and semifinal, helping UBC to an eighth straight national championship appearance.
 

The Calgary native is the second straight Thunderbird to win the Lou Bilek Award after teammate Eric Lajeunesse earned the honour in 2022 while Thomas Gardner was honoured in 2018 giving UBC three of the last five winners.

"It's terrific and I'm really thrilled for these guys but we keep saying to them, we start the season day one in pre-season and the goal is to try and win a national championship for this program every year," added Mosher. "Individual accomplishments are nice and it's nice for players to have good seasons and be recognized and obviously if they have then the team has done well."

That drive for a 14th U SPORTS title begins Thursday at 9:30 a.m. PT as the 'Birds face the AUS champion St. FX X-Men. The game will be streamed live on CBC Gem and CBC Sports' YouTube page.


2023 U SPORTS MEN'S SOCCER AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy (player of the year): Sebastian Dzikowski, UBC

Lou Bilek Award (rookie of the year): Brennen Fuerst, UBC

Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Luke Berryman, Dalhousie

Fox40 Coach of the year: Pat Raimondo, Montréal

First Team All-Canadians
 
Pos Name School Yr Hometown Academic Program
GK Kevon Grant Ontario Tech 4 Oshawa, Ont. Criminology
D Zé Cunha Cape Breton 3 Cascais, Portugal Arts Community Studies
D Eric Lajeunesse UBC 2 Ottawa, Ont. Science
D Caden Rogozinski Mount Royal 3 Calgary, Alta. Business
D Kareem Sow Montréal 5 Sherbrooke, Que. Mechanical Engineering
MF Gregory David UQAM 3 Ste-Julie, Que. Psychology
S Kyle Cordeiro StFX 3 Oakville, Ont. Business
S Sebastian Dzikowski UBC 3 Calgary, Alta. Applied Science
S Omar Marzouk Ontario Tech 5 Cairo, Egypt Education
S Owen Sheppard Cape Breton 3 St. John's, N.L. Business
S Christian Zeppieri York 1 Maple, Ont. Liberal Arts & Prof. Studies
 
Second Team All-Canadians
Pos Name School Yr Hometown Academic Program
GK Bennett McKay UBC 3 Delta, B.C. Arts
D Cole Fernandez Guelph 3 Hamilton, Ont. Sociology
D Raphaël Garcia Carleton 3 Ottawa, Ont. Law
MF Mahdi Abbassi UQTR 1 Montreal, Que. Nursing
MF Quentin Paumier Montréal 3 Marseille, France Economics
MF Logan Rieck StFX 3 Cambridge, Ont. Human Kinetics
S Luke Rosettani UNB 3 Ottawa, Ont. Recreation & Sports Studies
S Timothé Makanzu-Tinadio UQAM 3 Montreal, Que. Human Resources
S Kevin Espiro Waterloo 3 Mississauga, Ont. Pharmacy
S Marcus Velado-Tsegaye Alberta 2 Edmonton, Alta. Business
MF Javier Sagaste Victoria 4 Victoria, B.C. Humanities
 
All-Rookie Team
Pos Name School Hometown Academic Program
GK Matteo Blanc Moncton Flavin, France Physical Education
D Matisse Chretien McGill Quebec City, Que. Physical & Health Education
D Tarek Ghamraoui UQTR Brossard, Que. Physical Education
D Ibrahim Saadi Western London, Ont. King's College
MF Maxime Bourgeois Sherbrooke Granby, Que. Free Studies
MF Jacob Cabral Guelph Mississauga, Ont. Arts
MF Brennen Fuerst UBC Calgary, Alta. Arts
MF Augustine Opouro Memorial St. John's, N.L. Unspecified
MF Isaac VanWychen StFX Middle Musquodoboit, N.S. Human Kinetics
S Michael Maslanka Toronto Mississauga. Ont. Political Science
S Philip Masri MacEwan Edmonton, Alta. Open Studies
S Kian Proctor UFV Delta, B.C. Qualifying Studies

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Gardner

#26 Thomas Gardner

Midfielder
5' 9"
2nd
Sebastian Dzikowski

#17 Sebastian Dzikowski

Forward
6' 3"
1st
Eric Lajeunesse

#13 Eric Lajeunesse

Defender
6' 3"
2nd
Bennett McKay

#1 Bennett McKay

Goalkeeper
6' 0"
3rd
Brennen Fuerst

#11 Brennen Fuerst

Midfielder
5' 10"
1st

Players Mentioned

Thomas Gardner

#26 Thomas Gardner

5' 9"
2nd
Midfielder
Sebastian Dzikowski

#17 Sebastian Dzikowski

6' 3"
1st
Forward
Eric Lajeunesse

#13 Eric Lajeunesse

6' 3"
2nd
Defender
Bennett McKay

#1 Bennett McKay

6' 0"
3rd
Goalkeeper
Brennen Fuerst

#11 Brennen Fuerst

5' 10"
1st
Midfielder