Ridgebacks women’s soccer coach wins OUA Male Coach of the Year

Peyvand Mossavat, Head Coach of the Ontario champion University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s Ridgebacks women’s soccer team capped an incredible year of success May 10 when he was named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Male Coach of the Year. This award covers all teams at all universities in the province.

Last fall, Mossavat was also named women’s soccer Coach of the Year by the OUA and U Sports, the governing bodies for university sport in Ontario and Canada, respectively. It marked the second time in three years Mossavat was named the U Sports women’s soccer Coach of the Year.

Mossavat also took home the Canadian University Sports Network (CUSN)’s Coach of the Year awards for both the nationwide fan vote online, as well as their staff pick for the award.

“It is truly remarkable what Peyvand and his coaching staff have achieved,” said Scott Barker, Director of Athletics, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. “When we decided to start the women's soccer program five years ago we never imagined to have this much success so quickly. He had a vision for what he wanted the Ridgebacks soccer program to become and he worked tirelessly to achieve that goal.”

In 2016-2017, Mossavat coached the Ridgebacks to a 13-2-1 regular season record that earned them first place in the OUA East Division. The Ridgebacks led the nation by scoring 60 goals in just 16 conference games. The team continued its winning streak in the OUA playoffs, defeating Queen’s 1-0 to capture the Ridgebacks’ first-ever OUA championship.

The team ended the season with a bronze medal at the U Sports Women’s Soccer National Championship in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

“The awards and recognition the players received this year is a testament to the type of student athletes we have,” says Barker. “Our coaches spend a lot of time recruiting champions on and off the field. The entire team has worked so hard to accomplish their goals. So being able to see so many of them recognized provincially and nationally is extremely satisfying.”

In October, Mossavat was appointed head coach of the Canadian national team for the 29^th Summer Universiade this August in Taipei, Taiwan.

The women’s soccer team was also named OUA Team of the Year (among all female and male university teams across the province).