Atlético Ottawa Acquires Goalkeeper Rayane Yesli, Loans Verhoeven to Valour FC

February 9, 2024 – Canadian Premier League (CPL) – Atletico Ottawa News Release

OTTAWA, ON – Atlético Ottawa is excited to announce that the cub has completed the signing of 2023 Canadian Premier League (CPL) Goalkeeper of the Year nominee, Rayanae Yesli, in a transfer from Winnpeg-based Valour FC. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Yesli, 24, joins Atlético on a one-year contract with a club option to extend the deal to the end of the 2025 season following two years in Winnipeg.

In 2022, Yesli competed for minutes with the now-starting keeper for CF Montréal Jonathan Sirois, before becoming the number-one goalkeeper the following campaign. He featured in all but two matches (27 appearances total) and kept seven (7) clean sheets for a struggling Valour side, earning a nomination for Goalkeeper of the Year alongside CPL finalists Triston Henry (Forge FC) and Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC).

“This addition makes us very proud, we will have two great goalkeepers,” said Carlos González, Head Coach, Atlético Ottawa. “At the end of the day, it gives us the target we were looking for in the design of the club which is: having two very reliable players in each position so there is healthy competitiveness and the team can be the beneficiary of this situation.

“Yesli, he has shown in the last few seasons the kind of goalkeeper and person he is. He is a person with a great personality, a player who can bounce back on mistakes and remain focused during games, and someone who can be stable. He has shown he is a reliable player in the goal, he saves a lot and has given great performances for Valour. Yesli is a player that, although he is in the present, he also has a brilliant future. Because of his age, and of the physical and technical qualities he has, Borja Montero (Goalkeeping Coach) and I feel like he has big room for improvement and can make those steps from Ottawa.”

Rayane Yesli at TD Place after signing for Atlético Ottawa (Photo credit: Chris Hue / Atlético Ottawa)

With 81 saves in 2023, Yesli made a name for himself as a stand-out shot-stopper and helped Valour FC, who finished in last place, to a better defensive record than play-off side York United. The 24-year-old becomes the second goalkeeper on Atlético’s roster for the 2024 season, after Nathan Ingham (who signed a new deal in December) and following the departure of Sean Melvin (who recently signed for Vancouver Island’s Pacific FC).

“I am very happy to have made this move,”…