CALGARY – Freshman University of Calgary Dinos forward Bori Falaye is the Canada West rookie of the year, while forward Dominic Russo and defender Dominick Zator landed on the first all-star team, the conference announced Thursday.

The trio leads the Dinos into the Canada West Final Four this weekend, where they are just one win away from the national championship. Calgary takes on UBC in a semifinal Saturday at 11 a.m. MT at Foote Field in Edmonton.

Rookie Bori Falaye began his U Sports career with the Dinos this season and made an immediate impact on offence. The Engineering major ranked third in the conference in scoring, netting seven goals and adding five assists for 12 points. Despite being plagued by injury midway through October, he returned to score two goals in the Dinos' quarter-final win over Fraser Valley to propel them to the Canada West Final Four for the first time since 2010. 

Falaye, who was also a second team all-star,  becomes just the second Dino to be named Canada West Rookie of the Year. J.P. Khouri earned the award back in 1997. 

"He's an amazing athlete. He has all the abilities and attributes that a coach would look for in a young footballer," said Calgary head coach Brendan O'Connell. "He has a tight touch, he has space and time making skills, he has quick feet, and he has distributions skills and dribbling skills. He was accepted straight away into the team and he works hard. He's a very humble guy, but he's loud in what he does on field."

Russo, a 2015 first team All-Canadian, earns his third all-star selection overall and second straight on the first team. The senior forward, who lit it up in the summer with the Foothills U23 squad, finished second in the conference with 24 points, including 15 goals. Zator, meanwhile, finished in the top-five in conference scoring from his defender position, recording one goal and 11 assists as the Dinos scored a conference-best 45 goals on the season.

Conference leading scorer Ajeej Sarkaria of Alberta was named the Canada West MVP, while Golden Bears head coach Len Vickery was coach of the year. Lethbridge's Cormac Southam won the student-athlete community service award as the province of Alberta swept the major awards.

2016 Canada West Men's Soccer Awards
Player of the Year: Ajeej Sarkaria, Alberta
Rookie of the Year: Bori Falaye, Calgary
Coach of the Year: Len Vickery, Alberta
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Cormac Southam, Lethbridge

2016 Canada West Men's Soccer First Team All-Stars
Position / Name / School / Year / Hometown / Program

GK / Mitch McCaw / UBCO / 4 / Calgary, AB / Management
DEF / Bryan Fong / UBC / 5 / Vancouver, BC / Kinesiology
DEF / Niko Saler / Alberta / 5 / Lethbridge, AB / Graduate Studies & Research
DEF / Dominick Zator / Calgary / 5 / Calgary, AB / Business
DEF / Tammer Byrne / Fraser Valley / 3 / Abbotsford, BC / Kinesiology
DEF / Tyler Mertens / UBC / 5 / Port Coquitlam, BC / Business
OFF / Dominic Russo / Calgary / 5 / Calgary, AB / Arts & Business
OFF / Ajeej Sarkaria / Alberta / 1 / Edmonton, AB / Arts
OFF / Titouan Chopin / UBC / 2 / Kaslo, BC / Arts
OFF / Elijah Adekugbe / Trinity Western / 3 / Calgary, AB / Business Administration
OFF / Ryan Glanville / Thompson Rivers / 4 / Williams Lake, BC / MBA

2016 Canada West Men's Soccer Second Team All-Stars
Position / Name / School / Year / Hometown / Program

GK / Connor James / Alberta / 3 / Edmonton, AB / Business
DEF / Bruno Zebie / Alberta / 2 / Paris, France / Physical Education & Recreation
DEF / Tyrin Hutchings / Mount Royal / 5 / Calgary, AB / Arts
DEF / Noah Cunningham / Alberta / 1 / St. Albert, AB / Education
DEF / Jacob Powell / Saskatchewan / 2/ Vancouver, BC / Business
DEF / Gordon Hall / UNBC / 3 / Chilliwack, BC / Forest Ecology & Management
OFF / Cody Cook / Mount Royal / 5 / Cranbrook, BC / Business Administration
OFF / Bori Falaye / Calgary / 1 / Calgary, AB / Engineering
OFF / Daniel Davidson / Fraser Valley / 3 / Abbotsford, BC / Criminology
OFF / Chris Rushworth / Lethbridge / 5 / Cranbrook, BC / Management
OFF / Mitch Bauche / Saskatchewan / 5 / Saskatoon, SK / Engineering
 
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