A trio of York University Lions men's soccer players earned national awards on Wednesday evening with the announcement of the U SPORTS all-Canadians and major award winners.
 
Forward Dieu Merci Yuma, midfielder Soji Olatoye and defender Jadon Vilfort were all recognized as all-Canadians for the first time. Yuma earned a place on the first team, while Olatoye and Vilfort were recognized on the second team.
 
It marks the first time since 2014 the Lions have had three men's soccer all-Canadians. York and Cape Breton University also tied for the most from one institution this season.
 
Yuma, from Toronto, had a remarkable season on the pitch and was named the OUA East player of the year and a first-team all-star. He was also the conference's nominee for national player of the year. The fourth-year striker tied for the OUA lead with 12 goals in nine games and added five assists in the regular season. He tied for the league lead with three game-winning goals and was also first in the OUA in shots on goal (28) and total shots (35). He also scored twice in the OUA championship game against Guelph this past Saturday.
 
Olatoye, a fourth-year player from Brampton, Ont., started seven games in the regular season and finished third in team scoring with five goals and four assists. Three of his five goals were for game winners, including one in a big victory over the defending champion Ravens and the lone tally in a season-ending win over Queen's. He was also tremendous in the playoffs with a goal and two assists in three games.
 
Vilfort is a second-year defender from Ottawa who played an impressive lockdown role for the Lions in the eight games that he started, helping the team allow just six goals in 10 games this season, the second-lowest mark in the OUA.
 
The Lions finished atop the OUA East Division to claim their 14^th straight division title and advanced to the conference title game for the eighth straight year, falling by a score of 3-2 to the Gryphons in the gold-medal match. In recognition of the team's stellar regular-season, head coach Carmine Isacco was named the OUA East coach of the year and was the conference's nominee for the national award.
 
U SPORTS Major Award Winners
Joe Johnson Award (most valuable player) – Guy-Frank Essome Penda, Montreal
Rookie of the Year – Christian Rossi, Trinity Western
Community Service Award – Cheikh Tchouambou Youmbi, McMaster
Coach of the Year – Bruce Wilson, Victoria
 
U SPORTS First-team All-Canadians
G – Felix Goulet, Montreal
D – Euan Bauld, Cape Breton
D – Raphael Garcia, Carleton
D – Evan Libke, Victoria
M – Nick Aquino, St. Francis Xavier
M – Dusan Kovacevic, McMaster
F – Mohamed El Gandour, Mount Royal
F – Guy-Frank Essome Penda, Montreal
F – Heikel Jarras, Laval
F – Charlie Waters, Cape Breton
F – Dieu Merci Yuma, York
 
U SPORTS Second-team All-Canadians
G – Jake Ruschkowski, Calgary
D – Joshua Read, St. Francis Xavier
D – Kareem Sow, Montreal
D – Jadon Vilfort, York
M – Justin Anderson-Louch, Mount Royal
M – Lucas Doros, Guelph
M – Soji Olatoye, York
F – Kairo Coore, Cape Breton
F – Isaac Koch, Victoria
F – Ajeej Sarkaria, Alberta