As a team, the Laurentian Voyageurs men's soccer crew posted far and away their best record in years. On a more individual basis, coach and players alike were rewarded for these results as the OUA (Ontario University Athletics) year-end award winners were announced this week.

Finishing with a record of 5-2-5, good for fourth place in the East Division, the Voyageurs earned themselves a home playoff game, falling in a 2-1 overtime heartbreaker when the Carleton Ravens deposited the game-winning goal with but four minutes remaining in extra time.

Coming on the heels of a 2-7-3 mark in the fall of 2025, the leap forward in overall competitiveness was more than enough reason to reward first year coach Brendan Teeling with OUA East Coach of the Year accolades.

Laurentian also landed a pair of players on the OUA East First All-Star team for the first time since the 2009 campaign when the trio of Scott Cliff*, Dan Mazzuca and Daniel Keir all cracked that lineup simultaneously. (Cliff was also named a member of the All-Canadian second all-star team)

This time around, it would be defensive midfielder Aziz Traore and right fullback Moshood Babalola who were deemed worthy of inclusion. One has to go back to the 2017 campaign to find the last L.U. first team in all-star, that in the form of local product and current member of the Sudbury Cyclones, Connor Vande Weghe.

In his first season at the helm, Brendan Teeling turned around a Voyageurs men's soccer program that had struggled in recent years, his Coach of the Year honours last duplicated by a Laurentian men's soccer coach in that memorable 2009 campaign, with Carlo Castrechino earning the nod.

Teeling was hired at Laurentian following a very successful run with the TSS Rovers of the British Columbia Premier League, leading the Voyageurs to an impressive season that was highlighted by a road victory over the nationally-ranked (5th) TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University) Bold.

Teeling is just the third coach in Laurentian men's soccer history to earn the OUA East Coach of the Year award, joining Carlo Castrechino (noted above) and two-time winner Greg Zorbas (1984 & 1989).

Completing his second year with the Voyageurs, Aziz Traore appeared in all 12 matches this year, part of the starting lineup 11 times - all while establishing himself as a top-end defensive midfielder in the league.

His presence in the middle of the pitch was a big reason why the Voyageurs kept opponents off the scoreboard for a full ninety minutes on five separate occasions. The impact extended far beyond the scoresheet for the Mechanical Engineering major who hails from the Côte d'Ivoire, as his relentless work ethic, physical presence and exceptional ability to win aerial duels and loose balls made him an invaluable part of the Voyageurs' game-day formation.

Joining Traore as a first team all-star was teammate Moshood Babalola, a standout who also appeared in 12 matches, making 11 starts. After beginning the season as a winger, Babalola quickly transitioned into the right-back position, where he established himself as a force on the outside.

Blessed with tremendous physical strength and excellent defensive awareness, Babalola consistently shut down opposing wingers and provided stability along the back line - also contributing in a timely manner offensively with two goals and an assist.

A native of Nigeria, Babalola is studying Psychology at Laurentian, currently in the midst of his second year with the program.