UBC's Danielle Steer named Player of the year

CALGARY - Danielle Steer has been named the 2022 Canada West Women's Soccer Player of the Year after an outstanding season with the UBC Thunderbirds.

The conference unveiled its four major award-winners Wednesday, which also included TWU's Sophie Crowther as Rookie of the Year, UBC's Sophie Damian as the Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner, and MRU's Tino Fusco as the Coach of the Year.

Each individual has proven absolute excellence in their field (read about each separately below).

The winners will go on as Canada West's nominations for the U SPORTS national awards, which will be announced next week.

For videos highlighting our award-winners, please visit our social media channels:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Danielle Steer
​Team: UBC Thunderbirds
​Position: Forward
​Year: Fifth
​Hometown: Surrey, BC
​Program: Arts

Steer is credited with transforming the UBC Thunderbirds' program, which dominated the conference this year, going 13-1 on the regular season before convincingly securing their place in the CW Final Four.

The equally talented playmaker and scorer leads her team both on and off the field, making her teammates better while breaking records of her own.

Steer is now the all-time Canada West leader in career points, a mark she broke in mid-October when she posted her 66th point. She finished the season with 14 goals and eight assists, ranking second and third in the conference in those categories respectively. The versatile forward netted her goals in many different ways, proving her value while posting 1.47 points per game.

Steer's career points mark that now stands at 71 will be the standard of excellence for many years to come.

“She’s so consistent. She’s always on the stats sheet at the end of the day which is a credit to her ability to compete day in and day out against teams. For me she’s someone that works hard off the field and deserves all the credit she receives because of how much work she puts in when nobody is watching. She’s going to have a great pro career.” ​
​-Jesse Symons, Head Coach of the UBC Thunderbirds

Contact to arrange interviews: Jeff Sargeant, jeff.sargeant@ubc.ca

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Sophie Crowther
​Team: Trinity Western Spartans
​Position: Midfielder
​Year: First
​Hometown: New Westminster, BC
​Program: General

Sophie Crowther has been named Rookie of the Year after an impressive first season with the Trinity Western Spartans.

Crowther became a main contributor right away, starting every regular season game for the team and helping them to a second-place finish in the Pacific Division.

The speedy and elusive midfielder made a name for herself across the conference, posting the second-most assists this season with eight. She led her already talented offence in points (10), and made reliability her middle name. Crowther put up points in eight of the Spartans' 14 conference games, finishing strong with a goal and three assists over the final four contests.

The rookie has shown there is much to look forward to when it comes to Spartans soccer.

Your Canada West Women's Soccer Rookie of the Year is Sophie Crowther. The midfielder made an impact across the league in her very first season, helping the Trinity Western Spartans to a second-place finish in the Pacific Division.

An elusive player, Crowther led the Spartans in points this year, settling in to Canada West soccer with ease. The playmaker used her speed and soccer IQ to set her teammates up for success, proving her value in her rookie year.

“I am delighted that Sophie has been recognized with this award. Her attacking ability is superb, and her constant threat to generate chances has been so impactful to our team this year. Sophie is an outstanding all-around player who has already shown that she is amongst the elite players in our conference and we are so blessed that she is a Spartan. As good as she is as a player, she is an even better person.”
​Graham Roxburgh, head coach of the Trinity Western Spartans

Contact to arrange interviews: Mark Janzen, mark.janzen@twu.ca

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD WINNER: Sophie Damian
​Team: UBC Thunderbirds
​Position: Midfielder
​Year: Fourth
​Hometown: North Vancouver, BC
​Program: Arts

Sophie Damian has earned the Student-Athlete Community Service Award after standing out amongst her peers through the work she puts into soccer, school and her community.

The midfielder is a central piece in UBC's offence, consistently involved as she threatens teams with her mobility and playmaking abilities. Damian has helped the Thunderbirds to a nearly-perfect record this season, while earning the same success in the classroom.

Outside of university and athletics, Damian has become an inspiration in her community. She is the head coach of summer camps with Tslei-Waututh Nation, helping Indigenous children learn and grow through the game while supporting physical development in British Columbia.

She has spent extra time travelling to remote communities to deliver programing, while somehow also finding time to support an after-school program at an East Vancouver elementary school. Damian's care and time for children has caused many of them to look up to her as she teaches them to feel safe and confident in their own skin.

Your Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner is Sophie Damian. Damian's work on the pitch, in the classroom and throughout her community is an inspiration to all who know her.

Aside from being a central figure in the Thunderbird's offence, and suceeding in the classroom, Damian finds time to head up summer camps for Indigenous youth, while also delivering programming to an East Vancouver elementary school.

Her care for those who do not have equal access to opportunity is evident in everything she does.

“Sophie has qualities that stem so far beyond the field. She gives herself to communities and puts herself in situation to be a role model and a mentor for individuals all over the province and especially in Indigenous communities. She puts her whole self into the kids that are in front of her, and she wants to see everybody happy when she’s supporting her community.” ​
​– Jesse Symons, head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds

Contact to arrange interviews: Jeff Sargeant, jeff.sargeant@ubc.ca

COACH OF THE YEAR: Tino Fusco
​Team: Mount Royal Cougars
​Year: Thirteenth
​

Tino Fusco has been named the CW Coach of the Year after leading the Mount Royal Cougars to first place in the Prairie Division. The Cougars went into the season ranked 13th in the coaches' poll, but ended the season defying expectations with a 13-3-1 record.

Fusco elevated the Cougars' program to a new level in 2022 after the team finished with losing records in each of their previous seasons since joining Canada West (2012). His team has showed the league what is possible despite the challenges that come with being a new school in a conference.

He helped his team find ways to succeed in tight games this season while cultivating a winning culture at MRU.

“We are extremely proud of Tino and the progress he's made as Head Coach of our Cougars Women's Soccer program. Since our transition to CW and U SPORTS competition in the Fall of 2012, it has not been easy. But Tino, his staff, and our student-athletes continued to invest in a high performance culture that has really paid off in the last few seasons. The 2022 CW season is a culmination of a lot of belief, hard work, sacrifice, and tough decisions. We very much look forward to continued growth and success with our program on and off the field.” ​
​-Rob Godfrey, Associate Director, Varsity Athletics

Contact to arrange interviews: Lauren Zandee, lzandee@mtroyal.ca

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