Cougars Arevalo nets futsal player of year nod

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2025 (188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kiyanna Arevalo wasn’t sure what to expect when she returned to the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference in new colours.

The former Brandon University Bobcat, who started eight games as a rookie in 2021-22, took two years off before joining the Assiniboine College Cougars this season.

All she knew was that they repeatedly finished in last place and didn’t score once in the three soccer games she played against them.

Well, Arevalo helped the Cougars to a program first this year with a futsal playoff appearance. And on Thursday, she was announced as MCAC women’s futsal player of the year.

“I was actually expecting Angela (Fetsch) to get it. She’s such a good little player too and she reminds me of me when I was her age,” Arevalo said of her teammate.

“I was super surprised … I love this team, Memo (coach Manuel Luben) especially. He made me fall in love with the sport again.”

Arevalo returned to school to enrol in Assiniboine’s culinary program — joining the soccer and futsal team was secondary but has become a massive part of her life.

“I’m so thankful for this school. I’ve told everyone, this school made me fall in love with soccer again,” Arevalo said. “I always played soccer just to play but I never played just because I love the sport. I’m here every day because I love it, not because I need to be.”

She scored a hat trick in a 3-3 draw with the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers in the outdoor season, as the Cougars kept their playoff hopes alive down to the final weekend.

She was big again in the futsal season as AC swept CMU, 6-3 and 5-1, along with a 4-3 triumph over St. Boniface to finish 3-5-0, good for fourth place.

Luben quickly realized Arevalo would be a key piece of his team in his first year on the job.

“The first thing I noticed is her leadership,” Luben said. “She’s a great leader, great player.

“When she runs, her acceleration, aggressiveness and decision-making (are great). When she wants to get the ball, she goes.

“She’s like a machine.”

The key for the Cougars in the futsal season was the burden wasn’t solely on Arevalo. Fetsch and Kiera Griffin provided big support on the offensive end while Megan Beswitherick anchored the defence in front of goalkeeper Michelle Omand.

“We have a good starting lineup and players that come on after, but we have some key players that really push the limits,” Arevalo said. “With all the players out there, it creates a good dynamic on the court.”

The Cougars still have a mountain to climb this weekend as they host the final four. They face the top-ranked Bobcats in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.

BU went 6-1-1 with all-conference players Kenadie Janzen and Brogan Henry leading the charge to the regular season title.

“Any time I play BU it’s a strange feeling because of my history with them. When we played BU last time we were (without) Angela,” Arevalo said of AC’s 11-3 loss.

“We started to figure out their little tricks, however, we got tired our last game against them.

“With Angela there, we’ll have those extra subs, and will have to focus on not just kicking it against pressure but holding it and looking for those open players.”

The Providence Pilots play Les Rouges in the other semifinal at 5 p.m.

On the men’s side, Brandon plays the No. 1 seed USB at 11 a.m., then No. 3 Assiniboine faces CMU at 1 p.m.

BU’s Matheus Ruffini and AC’s Paulo Pinto made the all-conference team.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5