Note: Devon O'Hea is a 2018 Argyle Secondary alumnus.
By Thomas Lal - Great Northwest Athletic Conference and Wilson Wong - SFU Athletics
PORTLAND, Ore. – After a dominant regular season that saw him record at least one point in 10 of 11 matches against conference competition and lead Simon Fraser to its eighth conference title, Devin O'Hea now leads the 2023 GNAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Team as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year.
The senior forward from North Vancouver, B.C., has been the model of consistency this year, starting every match and logging over 1,400 minutes as part of the top-ranked offence in the GNAC. O'Hea has tallied nine multi-point performances this season, including a run of seven matches in a row where he scored a goal.
Heading into the NCAA Super Region 4 Championships, O'Hea has nine goals and nine assists. His assist total leads the GNAC and ranks 14th in Division II. He also ranks 30th in the division with 1.59 points per game while leading an SFU offence that ranks 28th in Division II with 112 total points.
O'Hea's selection as Player of the Year makes him the second straight SFU player to receive the honour after Mark Talisuna earned the award in 2022. He is the ninth player from Simon Fraser to win the honour overall.
O'Hea is among three of the GNAC Champion Red Leafs named to the first team along with senior defender and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Niko Papakyriakopoulos and Freshman of the Year Michael Hennessy (Vancouver). The first-team selection is the first of Papakyriakopoulos' career and comes after a regular season where the New Westminster, B.C., native led SFU to a conference-best 0.88 goals against average and just 15 goals allowed. He also contributed offensively and is second only to O'Hea with eight assists on the year. Papakyriakopoulos was second-team All-GNAC last season.
In a freshman field that was jam-packed with talent, Hennessy rose above the rest with a debut campaign worthy of a championship. Making an immediate impression from the outset, Hennessy has started every match of the season for the Red Leafs.
He ranks second in the GNAC and 23rd in Div. II with 29 points on the year. He is also tied for second in the conference and 14th in the division with 13 goals, five of which he scored in a record-setting performance against Saint Martin's on Oct. 19.
"I'm very happy for my guys who have been recognized by my peers in the conference," said SFU head coach Clint Schneider. "Every one of them is deserving and I can't speak highly enough regarding my two captains, Niko and Devin. Both have shown tremendous leadership and humility with the group and work tirelessly to continue our tradition of competitive mindset and servant leadership.
"Having Michael win Freshman of the Year is very exciting. I know him and Koji Poon both would have been very deserving of this and both have shown tremendous ability so early in their careers on Burnaby Mountain."
Rookie forward Koji Poon (Vancouver) and junior defender Nicolai Placzek (Breisach, Germany) both merited second-team recognition.
Another fantastic rookie, Poon was sixth in the GNAC in goals (eight), goals per game (0.47), points (18), points per game (1.06), shots (38) and shots per game (2.24). With four game-winning goals, Poon tied for the league lead in the category, alongside teammate Hennessy and Jim Wagenaar of Northwest Nazarene. He heads into the post-season eighth in all of NCAA Div. II in freshman goal scoring.
Placzek is one of the anchors' of SFU's GNAC-best defence, recording 1,335 minutes played over 16 appearances, all starts. Offensively, he added a goal and a pair of assists for four points. It is Placzek's second consecutive appearance on the second team.
"Nicolai is only getting better year after year with us as he continues to grow as a footballer and person. He is an excellent defender with a ton of potential to continue to get better," remarked Schneider.
Seniors Justyn Sandhu (Richmond, B.C.) and Ali Zohar (Surrey, B.C.) were All-GNAC Honourable Mentions.
Goalkeeper Sandhu topped the conference in goals against average (0.88), save percentage (0.800), and shutouts per game (0.35). He tied for the most shutouts in the GNAC – and 24th in NCAA Div. II – with six. Sandhu won the GNAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week three times during the season. He was a second-team member last season.
The Red Leafs' senior leader in the midfield, Zohar tied for fourth in the league with five assists, and placed fifth in assists per game (0.29). Zohar was a second-team selection in 2021 and 2022.
"I am pleased Ali and Justyn have gotten recognized," said Schneider. "Ali does so much work that is unsung and he has had a tremendous senior year and has been so important for our success. Justyn for me is one of the top goalkeepers in the NCAA, period. I think it gets overshadowed on how consistent he is because of the quality in front of him, but we know his value with us."
Schneider's Red Leafs are preparing for their first match of the 2023 NCAA Div. II Men's Soccer Championship, which will take place Thursday in Los Angeles. Seventh-seeded SFU will face No. 10 seed Point Loma Nazarene (California) in a Super Region 4 first round contest at 6 p.m.
Tournament information: https://lagoldeneagles.com/sports/2023/11/14/tournament-html-test.aspx
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
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