York University Lions women's soccer player Nia Fleming-Thompson was a one-woman wrecking crew in her return to the OUA.
The second-year forward from Mississauga, Ont., took the province by storm after a year away South of the border. She scored 12 goals, the second-most in the league, accounting for more than a third (34.2%) of the Lions goals this season.
That was enough to make the biology major the OUA West MVP, one-upping her 2022 season which saw her win the OUA West Rookie of the Year award as the Lions earned an OUA silver medal. Fleming-Thompson is the 11th Lion to win the award all-time, and the second in the last three years after Jotam Chouhan was cast West MVP in 2022. The striker will aim to become the third player in program history to win the award multiple times, looking to join Nour Ghoneim (2014, 2015) and Stefania Morra (2007, 2008).
Fleming-Thompson was also named a first-team all-star, one of five Lions to make OUA all-star sides. Midfielder Brianne was one of thee York first team all-stars. Desa, a first-year Lion and former Brock Badger, wasn't flashy offensively, registering just two assists, but was a consistent performer in the midfield, playing a defence-first style. Her biggest moment in her first year in red and white came in the opening round of the OUA playoffs when she scored the winning goal in the 68th minute to send York to the OUA quarter-final, which they won in upset fashion over top-seeded Western.
The other first teamer was veteran midfielder Kalifornia Mitchell, who earns her fifth OUA all-star selection, this being her fourth time on the first team. Mitchell, a fifth-year education major, rounded out her OUA career with another solid offensive season, scoring three goals and adding an assist. The Ajax, Ont., native scored in her final two regular-season matches – the tying goal in the 82nd minute of a 2-2 draw with Western on Oct. 11 and the go-ahead goal in the 85th minute of another 2-2 draw against Brock in her final home game as a Lion.
York also had a pair of second team all-stars: Kalifornia's sister Brook-Lynne and striker Maia Torelli.
The junior Mitchell, a fourth-year defender and fine arts major, inherits her inaugural all-star nomination. Though she did not find the scoresheet this season, she was one of big reasons why the Lions allowed just a goal a game on average this season as they returned to the postseason after missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years in 2023.
Torelli, a fourth-year forward from Woodbridge, Ont., is an all-star for a second consecutive season after earning a place on the first team last season. After leading the Lions in goals last season with five, she saw a slight dip in offensive production, posting three goals this season. The business administration major opened the scoring for the Lions in 2024 as they came back in the second half to draw the McMaster Marauders 2-2 in the season opener. She then scored goals in back-to-back lopsided wins over the Algoma Thunderbirds.
