For the first time in school history, a University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men's soccer talent has been named the 2024 Canada West player of the year.
Forward Mateo Brazinha lit up the CW this season with eight goals and nine assists for a conference-leading 17 points.
Those nine assists were the most in the conference and the eight goals were tied for first. Those totals also mark the greatest offensive season in UFV Cascades men's soccer history. Brazinha was involved in an amazing 17 of 29 goals (59 per cent) scored by UFV.
MSOC | Mateo Brazinha with a thunderbolt to tie it again!@CanadaWest @goUFV pic.twitter.com/liI5vgE27T
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) October 27, 2024
Brazinha's strong play continued in the playoffs and he scored a spectacular tying goal for the Cascades in the team's semifinal game against the UBC Thunderbirds on Sunday (Oct. 27).
Cascades head coach Tom Lowndes said it was a season to remember for the third-year Port Coquitlam product. He acknowledged his ability to score goals, but said his playmaking is what sets him apart.
"I think the pleasing thing with Mateo is the assists," he said. "He's scored some big time goals but he's also contributed to a lot of goals. His teammates have done a really good job of putting him in positions where he can effect the game. His growth from last year to this year has been tremendous. He's a real threat and I think as the season wore on, teams were starting to double and triple team him."
MSOC | The guy can’t be stopped…
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) September 8, 2024
Mateo Brazinha bags another goal off the feed from Dante Colebourne to give us the lead at UBC! pic.twitter.com/86UYNnfAsW
Brazinha helped the Cascades post the best record in program history, finishing at 8-5-3 – good for third place in the Pacific Division. The Cascades then upset the Calgary Dinos in the quarter-final round of the playoffs on Friday (Oct. 25), before falling 4-2 in overtime to UBC on Sunday.
He was also named a CW first team all-star earlier in October.
It's believed that Brazinha has a good chance to be drafted in the 2025 CPL-U Sports Draft, which occurs on Dec. 5. If he's chosen, he would be the first Cascades soccer player to ever be selected in that draft.
✨ 𝗖𝗪 𝐌𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 ✨
— Canada West (@CanadaWest) October 31, 2024
Fraser Valley’s Mateo Brazinha is our Player of the Year!
The third-year striker was the first player since 2012 to lead the conference in goals, assists, and points.@UFVCascades x @USPORTSca pic.twitter.com/f4LQTZCPX6
