# 2021 Valour FC season

The 2021 Valour FC season was the third season in the club's history, as well as the third season in Canadian Premier League history.

## Overview

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 Canadian Premier League season began in a bubble in Winnipeg, giving Valour FC home field advantage for the first 8 games of the season. During this time Valour started off strong, reaching the top of the table. Crucial to Valour's success in this stretch was the play of Haitian defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste. Loanee goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois also had a league record-breaking start to the season. However, after playing seven games Jean-Baptiste suffered a season-ending injury. After Jean-Baptiste was injured and the league left the bubble, Valour's season took a sharp downward turn, winning only one match in 10 games. This led to club's only ever head coach, Rob Gale, being fired, and he was replaced with Marc Dos Santos. Under Dos Santos, the team managed to get some better results, and ahead of the last game of the season against bottom of the table FC Edmonton, a playoff spot was within their grasp. The season ended in heartbreak: Edmonton went up three goals to nil, seemingly ending Valour's playoff chances, but in the final fifteen minutes Mosed Dyer scored twice and then Daryl Fordyce scored to equalize things. If Valour scored one more goal they would have made the playoffs, but they could not and finished the season in fifth.

## Current squad

As of June 26, 2021.
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Previous club |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 0 | Matt Silva | GK | (1991-03-28)March 28, 1991 (aged 30) | York9 FC |
| 1 | Jonathan Sirois | GK | (2001-06-27)June 27, 2001 (aged 20) | CF Montréal |
| Defenders ||||||
| 4 | Tony Mikhael | CB / FB | (2000-03-01)March 1, 2000 (aged 21) | Carleton Ravens |
| 5 | Amir Soto | CB | (1997-11-04)November 4, 1997 (aged 24) | CD Universitario |
| 12 | Rocco Romeo | CB | (2000-03-25)March 25, 2000 (aged 21) | Toronto FC |
| 29 | Arnold Bouka Moutou | LB | (1988-11-28)November 28, 1988 (aged 33) | Dijon |
| 35 | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | CB | (1992-06-16)June 16, 1992 (aged 29) | Umeå FC |
| 82 | Andy Baquero | RB / RW | (1994-08-17)August 17, 1994 (aged 27) | Delfines del Este |
| 42 | Rafael Galhardo | RB | (1991-10-30)October 30, 1991 (aged 30) | Vasco da Gama |
| | Rodrigo Reyes | CB | (2001-02-01)February 1, 2001 (aged 20) | C.D. Guadalajara |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 7 | Moses Dyer | CM | (1997-03-21)March 21, 1997 (aged 24) | Florø SK |
| 8 | Keven Alemán | AM | (1994-03-25)March 25, 1994 (aged 27) | FC Edmonton |
| 14 | Stefan Cebara | RW / LW | (1991-04-12)April 12, 1991 (aged 30) | Vojvodina Novi Sad |
| 17 | Brett Levis | MF | (1993-03-29)March 29, 1993 (aged 28) | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| 18 | Jared Ulloa | RW / LW | (2002-06-08)June 8, 2002 (aged 19) | Sporting Cristal |
| 21 | José Galán | CM | (1986-02-02)February 2, 1986 (aged 35) | Al-Jabalain |
| 27 | Raphael Ohin | CM | (1995-05-25)May 25, 1995 (aged 26) | WSA Winnipeg |
| 77 | Federico Peña | MF | (1999-03-30)March 30, 1999 (aged 22) | Standard Liège |
| Forwards ||||||
| 9 | Austin Ricci | ST | (1996-04-08)April 8, 1996 (aged 25) | York9 FC |
| 10 | Masta Kacher | CF / AM | (1995-11-08)November 8, 1995 (aged 26) | Saint Louis FC |
| 16 | Daryl Fordyce | CF | (1987-01-02)January 2, 1987 (aged 34) | Sligo Rovers |
| 19 | William Akio | CF | (1998-07-23)July 23, 1998 (aged 23) | UTRGV Vaqueros |
| 24 | Sean Rea | CF / CM | (2002-05-15)May 15, 2002 (aged 19) | CF Montréal |

## Transfers
### In
#### Transferred in

| No. | Pos. | Player | From club | Fee/notes | Date |
| | FW | Ronny Maza | Trujillanos | Free | January 7, 2021 |
| | MF | Néstor Monge | Jicaral | Free | February 2, 2021 |
| 8 | MF | Keven Alemán | FC Edmonton | Free | February 4, 2021 |
| 19 | FW | William Akio | UTRGV Vaqueros | Free | May 5, 2021 |
| | DF | Rafael Galhardo | Vasco da Gama | Free | June 3, 2021 |
| 4 | DF | Tony Mikhael | Carleton Ravens | Selected 14th overall in the 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft | June 11, 2021 |
| 82 | DF | Andy Baquero | Delfines del Este | Free | June 26, 2021 |

#### Loans in

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned from | Fee/notes | Date |
| 18 | MF | Jared Ulloa | Sporting Cristal | Season-long loan | January 27, 2021 |
| 1 | GK | Jonathan Sirois | CF Montréal | Season-long loan | April 6, 2021 |
| 24 | FW | Sean Rea | CF Montréal | Season-long loan | April 6, 2021 |
| | DF | Rodrigo Reyes | C.D. Guadalajara | Season-long loan | June 10, 2021 |
| 12 | DF | Rocco Romeo | Toronto FC | Season-long loan | July 30, 2021 |

#### Draft picks

Valour FC selected the following players in the 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft on January 29, 2021. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.
| Round | Selection | Pos. | Player | Nationality | University |
| 1 | 3 | GK | Yuba-Rayane Yesli | Algeria | Montreal Carabins |
| 2 | 14 | DF | Tony Mikhael | Lebanon | Carleton Ravens |

### Out
#### Transferred out

| No. | Pos. | Player | To club | Fee/notes | Date |
| 10 | MF | Dylan Carreiro | Retired | Contract expired | October 17, 2020 |
| 33 | MF | Fraser Aird | FC Edmonton | Contract expired | December 24, 2020 |
| 4 | DF | Yohan Le Bourhis | | Contract expired | January 15, 2021 |
| 3 | DF | Chakib Hocine | | Contract expired | January 15, 2021 |
| 11 | FW | Shaan Hundal | Fort Lauderdale CF | Contract expired | January 15, 2021 |
| 25 | MF | Solomon Kojo Antwi | | Contract expired | January 15, 2021 |
| 8 | MF | Diego Gutiérrez | A.C. Barnechea | Contract expired | March 3, 2021 |
| | MF | Néstor Monge | | Contract terminated by mutual consent | April 29, 2021 |
| | FW | Ronny Maza | | Contract terminated by mutual consent | May 14, 2021 |

#### Loans out

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
| 21 | MF | José Galán | Villarrobledo | Loaned until March 2021 | September 24, 2020 | |
| 8 | MF | Keven Alemán | Guadalupe | Loaned until May 2021 | February 4, 2021 | |

## Competitions
### Canadian Premier League
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Forge (S) | 28 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 39 | 24 | +15 | 50 | Advance to playoffs |
| 2 | Cavalry | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +4 | 50 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | Pacific (C) | 28 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 45 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | York United | 28 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 36 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | Valour | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 35 | |
| 6 | HFX Wanderers | 28 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 35 | |
| 7 | FC Edmonton | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 28 | |
| 8 | Atlético Ottawa | 28 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 26 | |

#### Results by match

| Match | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Result | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | D | D | W | L | L | W | W | D |
| Position | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |

#### Matches
### Canadian Championship
#### Quarter-final
## Statistics
### Players

| No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Total | Total | Total | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Championship | Canadian Championship | Canadian Championship |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 2 | DF | | Rodrigo Reyes | 18 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Arnold Bouka Moutou | 16 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | | Tony Mikhael | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Amir Soto | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Moses Dyer | 29 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | | Keven Alemán | 25 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Austin Ricci | 18 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | Masta Kacher | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Rocco Romeo | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | | Stefan Cebara | 27 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | | Daryl Fordyce | 28 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Brett Levis | 17 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | | Jared Ulloa | 23 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | William Akio | 30 | 8 | 4 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | | José Galán | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | | Sean Rea | 25 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Raphael Ohin | 28 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | 7 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | | Rafael Galhardo | 25 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | MF | | Caden Tomy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | DF | | Federico Peña | 26 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 | MF | | Andy Baquero | 23 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalkeepers

| No. | Nat | Name | Total | Total | Total | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Premier League | Canadian Championship | Canadian Championship | Canadian Championship |
| No. | Nat | Name | Apps | Conceded | Shutout | Apps | Conceded | Shutout | Apps | Conceded | Shutouts |
| 1 | | Jonathan Sirois | 24 | 31 | 9 | 24 | 31 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | | Matt Silva | 6 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |