Mosakahiken Pair Join Cougars Soccer

Cougars men’s soccer is excited to welcome Ryan Buck-Stevens and Jerome Falcon Sanderson to the 2023 roster.

Both student athletes are from Moose Lake, Manitoba, a town of about 1,100 people, located around 100 kilometers South-East of The Pas. They are members of the Mosakahiken Cree Nation and are set to graduate from Frontier Mosakahiken School (FMS) in June. Both were selected to compete in the 2023 North American Indigenous Games as part of Manitoba U19 men's soccer team. These are physical, multisport athletes, playing any sport they can get involved in for the FMS Grizzlies including soccer, basketball, volleyball, cross country and badminton. Grizzlies coach, Adam Khan has been a huge advocate for the athletes, pushing them in sport and also organizing travel and tours of the college for them to pursue sport and education at the next level.

Buck-Stevens’ father introduced him to soccer at the age of eight and he fell in love with the sport. Buck-Stevens is a 6’0” left wing/left back and models his game after his soccer idol, Neymar JR. He played club for the Anthony Munroe Memorial Soccer Club based out of The Pas. A member of the school’s first appearance at the Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) A Provincials, he was the recipient of defensive awards, sportsmanship awards and was selected as an MHSAA soccer All-Star in 2022, after scoring 7 goals in the tournament. Buck-Stevens was also selected as an All-Star for basketball in 2021 when the Grizzlies won a silver medal. The team followed up this last season with an MHSAA ‘A’ provincial championship title.

“I am very excited to be a part of the soccer program at ACC,” said Buck-Stevens. “My years in high school were dedicated to changing our schools reputation and earning respect and I want to do the same thing in Brandon.”

“Ryan is an aggressive defender with exceptional speed, awareness and physicality. He has a solid shot and possesses strong leadership qualities,” said Cougars coach Chris McLachlan. “We feel he has the chance to be a significant contributor to the team’s success in his first year.”

Falcon Sanderson is a 5’9” forward. He played club for the JC Monarchs in Moose Lake. His dad was a competitive soccer player and inspired him to compete. His older brother, Alfred Tobacco, played for the Cougars soccer team in 2016 and was known to be fearless on the field. Falcon Sanderson is also highly competitive and enjoys playing lots of sports. He has received numerous awards including Most Valuable Player, Top Scorer and Top Forward throughout his soccer career with FMS. He was a soccer All-Star in 2022, a basketball graduating All-Star and was recently named MHSAA ‘A’ basketball Player of the Year after the teams championship.

“I’m looking forward to bonding with my new teammates and continuing to develop and grow as a player and a student,” said Falcon Sanderson. “I want to represent my community to the best of my ability because not everyone makes it out of the mud. I hope to inspire the next generation of youth in Moose Lake and show them they can achieve their dreams.”

“Jerome plays with pace and uses his speed to create turnovers. He has a good finishing touch and has scored many important goals for his high school team over the past few seasons,” said Cougars coach Chris McLachlan. “He is able to maintain a high work-rate for 90 minutes of play and brings great scoring potential for our team next season.”

Both Buck-Stevens and Falcon Sanderson are interested in pursuing trades programs in the future. They will be setting themselves up for success by taking the college’s mature high school program in the fall.