This article was updated Jan. 23 to include a statement from Carleton Athletics.
Players from the Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team were left confused on Thursday after the Canadian Premier League (CPL)-U Sports draft came and went without the selection of a Ravens player.
After Carleton lost in heartbreaking fashion to the University of Montreal Carabins in the 2021 U Sports men’s soccer national championship, 13 Ravens enlisted for the draft. While Carleton had the second-most available players of any school, all 16 picks passed without the selection of a Raven.
“Maybe they’re trying to send a message, maybe not,” said Ravens winger Scott Mazzotta, who was a prospect in the draft. “But to have 16 picks go by and not one from Carleton, [the] number two [team] in the country, it’s a bit confusing.”
Mazzotta’s teammate, holding midfielder Mitchell O’Brien, also expressed confusion. O’Brien said he felt Carleton had a lot of players who should have been picked, especially by the hometown club Atlético Ottawa.
Atlético instead selected José Cunha from Cape Breton University with the first overall pick, which they received after finishing last in the 2021 season. With the ninth pick, Atlético drafted Julien Bruce from the University of Montreal.
“As an older guy, I’ve seen the potential that a lot of our guys have,” O’Brien said. “The fact that the only pro club in Ottawa is not willing to run with the local boys is very aggravating. It’s so annoying to me.”
Many teams drafted locally. Pacific FC, located in Greater Victoria, B.C., selected University of Victoria player Rees Goertzen, while the Hamilton, Ont.-based Forge FC picked Mohamed Alshakman from McMaster University. York United FC drafted Soji Olatoye from York University.
O’Brien said the draft shows Atlético’s failure to develop a local soccer culture in Ottawa.
“It just goes to show how removed their whole idea of [soccer] culture is,” O’Brien said. “It’s just so not Ottawa—it really isn’t. It shows me they would rather look elsewhere than have a local identity. It’s very confusing.”
Atlético said in a statement to the Charlatan that its draft choices “were based purely on a technical decision made by our club and in response to our current needs and roster.”
This offseason has seen many changes for Atlético, including the departure of former head coach Mista, whose full name is Miguel Ángel Ferrer Martínez. Mazzotta said he thought this meant the club would turn to Carleton to build up their roster.
Despite the lack of Carleton draft picks this year, Atlético said it would work closer with Carleton in the future.
“Atlético Ottawa’s responsibility is to assemble the best squad possible every year,” the club’s statement read. “That said, we will continue to work with Carleton University and look to establish ways to collaborate closer with their soccer team.”
Following the publication of this article, Carleton Athletics said in a statement to 613 Sports that the comments of players “do not reflect the opinion of Carleton Athletics or our program.”
“We support the club, respect their decisions and wish them the best of luck as they approach the pre-season,” the statement read.
Carleton University Department of Recreation and Athletics response to the recent Charlatan Article #AtléticoOttawa #CanPL #USports pic.twitter.com/1170tCUqcN
— 613 Sports (@613_sports) January 23, 2022
Prior to the draft, many fans hoped Atlético would draft Carleton rookie Matteo de Brienne with the first overall pick. Fans used #DraftDeBrienne and #SignDeBrienne on Twitter to urge the CPL club to acquire the rookie.
On Tuesday, de Brienne signed a professional contract with Valour FC, removing him from the draft.
Both Mazzotta and O’Brien said Carleton players could still sign CPL contracts, even though they were passed over in the draft.
“But if they don’t want you as one of their two picks, I don’t know why they would want you at their pre-season [training],” Mazzotta said.
Although the hope of playing in the CPL remains intact, Mazzotta said Carleton being overlooked 16 times will take time to understand.
“We’re not the coach or the scouts,” Mazzotta said. “We can only say our opinion and what we know. And we train with those guys [on the team] every day and we know how good they are.”
Featured image from file.
