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Valor sends top goaltender to Ottawa – Winnipeg Free Press

Posted on by Neons

VALOR FC head coach Filip Dos Santos believes his club has improved despite saying goodbye to one of its best players.

Winnipeg Pro Soccer sent 24-year-old goalkeeper Ryan Yesley to Atletico Ottawa for midfielder Noah Verhoeven on Friday for undisclosed financial terms.

In a related move, the club signed Canadian goalkeeper Jonathan Viscosi.

According to Dos Santos, the player's move has been in the works for months.

“When there are trades in the offseason, they're never something that goes through your mind overnight, you wake up and decide to do it,” Dos Santos said. “Noah was a player I wanted to see if we could get, and when you get a good player, you probably have to give a good player.

“It was a long process. It was something we had to think about a lot, we had to evaluate what it meant in the big picture, and honestly, when I woke up today, I felt like the team was better with the addition of Jonathan Viscosi and Noah. Unlike being alone with Ryan.

Yesley signed with the Valor in 2022 after being selected third overall in the 2021 Canadian Premier League U Sports draft. He bided his time in his rookie year before fully mastering the starting role last summer.

The Canadian goalkeeper has been the lone bright spot in an often dark season for the Braves, recording seven clean sheets and conceding just 35 goals in 26 matches, earning him a nomination for the CPL's goalkeeper of the year award.

The deal continued what was expected to be a personnel overhaul for the Valor this season, which finished with a 6-8-14 record and a last-place finish in the Canadian Premier League in 2023.

After last season, the club announced 12 players would not return to Winnipeg this summer, including captain Andrew Jean-Baptiste, left winger Matteo de Brien and midfielder Diego Gutierrez – all leaders on and off the field.

Verhoeven, 24, was officially loaned to Valor by Atlético Ottawa, for whom he made 27 appearances in 2023, scoring one goal and two assists.

The Canadian midfielder brings CPL experience to the club, having played in 111 matches with three different clubs (Pacific FC, York United FC and Atlético Ottawa) since 2019.

“Noah was the player we wanted. With (Gutierrez's) departure, we felt it was important to bring in a midfielder with similar qualities in terms of keeping the team on the ball and getting us out of pressure. Dos Santos said.