Forge FC Hamilton captain Kyle Bekker named MVP; Tristan Henry top goalkeeper

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Published November 27, 2020 at 9:11 am

So far, only Hamilton players have ever been named league MVP.

Forge FC captain Kyle Bekker was named Canadian Premier League player of the year Thursday night.

The 30-year-old beat out Marco Bustos of Pacific FC and Akeem Garcia of HFX Wanderers FC for the award.

Bekker, from Oakville, Ontario, led the CPL in minutes played by an attacking player (879) and scored three goals and one assist with five shots on target.

He’s the second Forge FC player to take home the award in its two years of existence, following 2019 winner Tristan Borges.

Forge FC’s Triston Henry captured the 2020 Golden Glove, awarded to the goalkeeper voted to be the best at this position.

Henry, 27, started all but one of Forge FC’s 11 CPL matches in 2020 at The Island Games, recording a league-best five clean sheets including three consecutive shutouts to finish the season.

In addition, he ranked first in the CPL among goaltenders in 2020 appearances (10), minutes (900) and recoveries (tie-79), second in saves (23) and third in punches (tie-4).

Henry’s efforts were capped by a 2-0 clean sheet win over HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 CPL Final, helping Forge FC bring home back-to-back North Star Shields.

The 6-foot native of Scarborough, Ontario has yet to concede a goal in CPL championship play dating back to the two-leg Final in 2019 against Cavalry FC where he recorded a pair of 1-0 clean sheet wins.

Mohamed Farsi of Cavalry FC was named under-21 Canadian player of the year.

Coach of the year went to Stephen Hart of the Wanderers.

Garcia captured the Golden Boot with six goals in 10 appearances.

The winners of the 2020 CPL Awards were selected by media writers and reporters from across Canada.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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