CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Ibra Sanoh has caught the attention of the Toronto FC management.
The Holland College Hurricanes star leaves today for Toronto to take part in Toronto FC II’s pre-season camp.
“It’s one step closer to my dream,” he said, of playing professional soccer. “I’ve been wanting this since I was a kid.”
Sanoh, who turns 24 in April, attended the Major League Soccer (MLS) team’s three-day combine earlier this month. It was to identify players to assign to their development teams.
Sanoh said his first game of the combine wasn’t his best, but he quickly caught up to the pace of play and turned in a strong performance in the second contest, generating scoring chances and recording an assist.
“That’s when I really played my game,” he said.
A six-foot-two striker from Conakry, Guinea, who lives in Charlottetown, has dominated play on Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) pitches since joining Holland College four years ago. This past season, he scored 31 goals in 14 games, giving the striker a team record 101 goals for his career.
Sanoh, a marketing and advertising management student, won his fourth straight ACAA player of the year honours and was named the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association men’s soccer’s top player in November.
Hurricanes head coach Jonathan Vos is excited about his young striker’s latest opportunity. He said Sanoh got a chance to play against the top collegiate players four times and continued to push himself to improve each year.
“At times, he may not be as challenged during the regular season, but when it comes time for that national event, he was able to step up and improve,” he said. “He puts a lot of time in individually to try and get better. He’s got a really good approach and learns from his mistakes.”
Sanoh said he is appreciative of everything the Hurricanes coaching staff and members of the Holland College athletics department have done for him during the past four seasons.
“It’s thanks to Holland College I’m here now,” he said. “They helped me build my game.”
Sanoh said some days he’s nervous, other days it’s excitement and sometimes it’s both as he prepared for the pre-season camp. But, he said, he’s not scared of the outcome as he is going to put his best foot forward and leave it all on the pitch. He will take part in training sessions as well as an intrasquad and exhibition games.
Sanoh is also one of the three finalists for the Synergy Fitness and Nutrition Intercollegiate Male Athlete of the Year, which will be presented by Sport P.E.I. next week.
