KINGSTON, Ont. – A day before the 2023 U SPORTS Women's Soccer National Championship tournament begins, it's already been a banner week for the UBC Thunderbirds, headlined by Katalin Tolnai being awarded the Chantal Navert Award as Player of the Year.

Honoured at the All-Canadian Banquet Wednesday night in Kingston, Ontario, the host city for this year's championship tournament, Tolnai was joined onstage by T-Birds defender Sarah Rollins who has been named the 2023 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year.

Tolnai and Rollins both also earned First Team All-Canadian status, as did goalkeeper Dakota Beckett while Rollins also makes an appearance on the 2023 All-Rookie squad.
 

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"Katalin has showcased her ability to influence each game she has played in, not only with her goals and assists, but her link up play and ability to really understand the tempo of matches," said UBC head coach Jesse Symons who was the Canada West Coach of the Year nominee. "She has always had a team first approach and is someone that everyone is always looking to support with her humbleness as a player and person. Kat has been a role model for so many of the players on the UBC team and we are so excited for her to be recognized by U SPORTS as the Player of the Year, I am extremely proud of her accomplishment and it could not happen to a better person."

In a most memorable year, Tolnai tied her former teammate, Danielle Steer's record of 22 points in a single season having scored 14 goals with eight assists. Those 22 points were seven more than any other Canada West player in 2023.

Scoring a hat trick and adding four assists against Winnipeg, Tolnai set a new program record and tied the all-time Canada West mark with seven points in a single game. It was the first of three hat tricks the Toronto native would manage over the course of the year.



Twice this season Tolnai was named Canada West and U SPORTS Women's Soccer Player of the Week.

This is the first Chantal Navert Memorial Award win for UBC since Jasmin Dhanda in 2017.

Named both the Canada West Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the year, Rollins only once played less than a full 90 minutes during the regular season for UBC, that being an 84-minute road match in Kelowna, a game in which she scored her first career goal for the Thunderbirds on what proved to be the game winner.

Rollins finished the year with a pair of goals – both of them game winners – and an assist. But her stellar work on her own half of the pitch drew accolades week in and week out, noted as one of the conference's top defenders early in her rookie season.
 

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Along with her fellow defenders, Rollins helped UBC to a conference leading defence conceding just five goals in 14 regular season games.

"Sarah has really jumped on to the stage at the Canada West and U SPORTS level," said Symons. "She has embraced the team culture and ability to really establish herself as a key addition to our back line. She is a player that can attack and defend with her mindset to play the game at such a high level. It has been really exciting to see her progression through her first year at UBC. She is really just getting started with her ceiling as a player."

The T-Birds open up play at the 2023 U SPORTS National Championship at 10:30 a.m. PT Thursday when they battle the OUA Champion Ottawa Gee-Gees at Queen's University's Richardson Memorial Stadium. The game will be streamed live on CBC Gem and CBC Sports' YouTube Page.


 

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

Chantal Navert Award (player of the year): Katalin Tolnai, UBC
Rookie of the year: Sarah Rollins, UBC
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Hannah Miller, Trinity Western
Fox40 Coach of the year: Graham Kennedy, StFX
 
First Team All-Canadians

Name	School	Pos	Yr	Hometown	Academic Program
Dakota Beckett	UBC	GK	2	Langley, B.C.	Arts
Avarie Thomas	Western	D	3	London, Ont.	Kinesiology
Stephanie Hill	McGill	D	3	Dollard des Ormeaux, Que.	Physical Therapy
Sarah Rollins	UBC	D	1	Toronto, Ont.	Kinesiology
Mara Bouchard	McGill	MF	3	Granby, Que.	Psychology
Daphnée Blouin	Laval	F	5	Quebec City, Que.	Design (Master's)
Christina Gomes	Guelph	F	3	Bradford, Ont.	Psychology
Cassandra Provost	Ottawa	F	3	Acton Vale, Que.	Accounting
Alliyah Rowe	Cape Breton	F	4	Kitchener, Ont.	Arts
Amanda Smith	StFX	F	5	Ottawa, Ont.	Education
Katalin Tolnai	UBC	F	4	Toronto, Ont.	Unclassified

 
Second Team All-Canadians

Name	School	Pos	Yr	Hometown	Academic Program
Kirstin Tynan	Queen's	GK	3	North Vancouver, B.C.	Political Studies
Abby Steen	StFX	D	3	Stittsville, Ont.	Business
Grace Hannaford	Cape Breton	MF	2	Hammonds Plains, N.S.	Science
Jade Abreo	McMaster	MF	2	Mississauga, Ont.	Life Sciences
Kendra Couto	Queen's	MF	2	Aylmer, Ont.	Engineering
Sofia DiGiacomo	Calgary	MF	3	Calgary, Alta.	Arts
Elsa Lessard	Laval	MF	2	Ste-Julie, Que.	Business
Rachel Barlow	Calgary	F	4	Calgary, Alta.	Kinesiology
Erika Bastien	Montréal	F	5	Repentigny, Que.	Sport Management
Sydney Kennedy	StFX	F	5	Fletchers Lake, N.S.	Independent Student

 
All-Rookie Team

Name	School	Pos	Hometown	Academic Program
Ellie Lancaster	Cape Breton	GK	Fall River, N.S.	Arts
Jenny Harrison	Sherbrooke	GK	Sherbrooke, Que.	Special Education
Gabrielle Ferland	Ottawa	D	Ottawa, Ont.	International Development & Globalization
Julia Kittelson	Calgary	D	Calgary, Alta.	Arts
Florence Thibeault	Laval	D	Repentigny, Que.	Medicine
Sarah Rollins	UBC	D	Toronto, Ont.	Kinesiology
Cheyenne Bower	StFX	MF	London, Ont.	Human Kinetics
Ravina Braich	McMaster	MF	Oakville, Ont.	Biomedical Eng. & Health Sciences
Tamara Djurisic	Mount Royal	MF	Edmonton, Alta.	Physical Education
Sara Ricciardelli	Montréal	MF	Montreal, Que.	Architecture
Cara Freeman	Saint Mary's	F	Halifax, N.S.	Science
Leda Naihin	Queen's	F	Markham, Ont.	Kinesiology