NLSA Announces Youth Players of the Month for June 2022

The NLSA has named its youth players of the month for June 2022 in divisions from U12 to U17. The players come from various clubs including St. John’s, Paradise, CBS, Feildians and the Burin Peninsula Soccer Association.

Backgrounders are below.

GU12 

Aubree Bartlett (PSC)

Aubree has been playing for Paradise Soccer Club for the last five years. She contributed 13 goals to her Paradise team, combining an excellent understanding of the game with an all-action approach in her central midfield role. A leader within the team, she is valued and appreciated by her teammates and a proud member of both the NLSA and Whitecaps teams.  

BU12
Demi Oluseun (SJSC)

Born in Abuja, Nigeria, Demi Oluseun arrived in St. John’s, NL in 2019. Demi has been a welcome addition to the SJSC program and has been selected for additional training with the BU12 NLSA team, SJSC BU12 Travel Team as well as the Vancouver Whitecap Pre-prospect program. Demi is an absolute pleasure to coach as he always attends practice with passion and enthusiasm (along with a big smile on his face), and his hard work ethic, technical skills and winning mindset have been demonstrated all season long evidenced by his league leading 16 goals.

GU13
Emma Cook (SJSC)

With 11 goals in five games, Emma is a fierce striker who exhibits fast footwork, strong shooting abilities, and great poise and determination.  She is also part a member of the provincial GU13 team which went 5-0 at the recent Atlantic Championships.

BU13
Thomas McCarthy (CBS)

Thomas contributed to his CBS Strikers team with a team-leading four goals as well as helping out on the back end by filling in at center back.  This willingness to put the team’s needs ahead of his own is a great trait in a young player.  

GU15T2
Sarah Penney (SJSC)

Sarah is a first year U15 PYL player and plays striker on our team. Sarah is a strong and determined player. She continues to show a great touch around goal and was able to score 13 goals in 4 games this month. Congratulations to Sarah on an awesome month!

GU15T1
Athiei Achiek (SJSC)

Athiei is a constant threat and a nightmare for defender’s whenever she is on the field. Her elusive speed, tidy touch and ability to both shoot and distribute the ball effectively has led to Athiei having a great start to the season. Athiei is currently the GU15 PYL scoring leader with 10 goals in six games. Aside from her natural ability to score, Athiei sees the field very well and has great awareness, which has also made her a fantastic playmaker that often looks to pass first and set up her teammates. She is also part of the Whitecaps Academy program and is a member of the provincial GU14 team which captured gold at the recent Atlantic Championships.

BU15T2
Braden Rennie (BPSA)

Even though Braden played a limited amount of games during the month of June, he was certainly very effective in all. He scored three of the BPSA’s goals to give the team a bright start to the season. Co-captain of his team, Braeden is a midfielder who can pass the ball well and is always a threat to score. Coupled with a great work ethic on and off the pitch, it’s easy to see how he is such an asset to his team. This caps a great June for Braden as he was also an important member of the BU15 provincial team that captured gold at the Atlantic championships, where he finished joint top scorer.

BU15T1
Grayson Hinchey (FAA)

Grayson displays a very high level of ability in all aspects of the game. As an athletic and competitive centre-back, he showed strong performance in the PYL games as well as Atlantic Championships. He is a fast, skillful and versatile player who can play any positions to lead the team. Way to go Grayson!

GU17
Daria Walsh (SJSC)

Daria Walsh is a second year U17 defender for the St. John’s Soccer Club. A leader on and off the field, Daria has earned the respect of her teammates with her play and character. Daria made an impressive start to the season which has been recognized by this award. A multi-sport athlete from Gonzaga High School, Daria has represented the NLSA in every age group as she has developed her soccer talent.

BU17T1
Paris Kahunga (FAA)

Feildians Paris Kahunga started the season in strong form, scoring seven goals in the team’s first five matches. His physical presence upfront combined with his goal scoring ability and pace continues to prove he is a force to reckon with. No matter the position, he poses a threat and has a positive impact on the match. Paris always shows up with a smile and is willing to put in hard work. 

BU17T2
Daniel Martin (CBS)

Daniel had some stellar play during the month of June both in net and as a player. Daniel made some key saves and helped lead his team to a 3-3 tie against a very strong opponent. Daniel excels from others with his effective communication skills, solid and fearless play in the box and strong ball distribution. In addition, while playing out, he worked very hard in the backline, keeping the opponent at bay forcing most of the shots from outside. Keep up the fearless play Daniel!

On a side note: Daniel made his Challenge Cup debut and although it was a 1-0 loss, he was very active in the net and held his own against a solid rival. Lastly, Daniel helped his NLSA U16 capture the Gold Medal at the Atlantic Challenge Cup in Nova Scotia (Jun 26) where he helped seal the victory with his team in saving a late penalty. Congratulations and well done Daniel.