Burlington soccer stars make OUA all-star teams

Two Burlington athletes who have played a key role in the Laurier Golden Hawks’ rebuild have been named to the Ontario University Athletics all-star team.

Andra Neptune and Samir Ghouli were named to the OUA West Division men’s second team. Another Burlington player, Brock’s Nicholas Esperanca, was also named to the second team while McMaster goalie Ali Mudie was named to the women’s second team.

"The team did exceptionally well this year and they were great leaders for our group," said Laurier coach Mario Halapir. “To rebuild the program is not an easy thing to do and they were critical pieces."

Neptune, a Notre Dame grad, played a key role on a Laurier defence that cut its goals-against from 30 the previous season to just 12. The fourth-year defender played all 120 minutes in a 1-0 overtime loss to McMaster in the playoffs.

"His coming into our program was a big, massive part of our rebuilding process,” Halapir said. “When we recruited him in the beginning, that was just really the starting point." 

Neptune was named team MVP and rookie of the year in his first season at Laurier. He is also a two-time U Sports academic all-Canadian.

Ghouli had four goals to share the Golden Hawks’ team lead, two of which were game winners. The Burlington Central graduate was Laurier’s team MVP in 2022.

Esperanca was named an all-star at midfield but the Corpus Christi grad demonstrated his versatility throughout the season, filling in and excelling in various roles.

“Every team needs a versatile piece that they can integrate into various positions and situations when needed,” Brock coach Aleks Balta said of the fourth-year kinesiology student.

On the women’s side, Mudie was named an OUA all-star for the second year in a row. The third-year goalkeeper for the McMaster Marauders posted four shutouts in 11 games. The biotechnology major went 7-2-2, including a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Guelph. Mudie had a 0.93 goals-against average and an .804 save percentage, stopping 41 of 51 shots she faced.