Sage Stephens has been inspirational in goal for Stellenbosch FC this past season.
Image: BackpagePix
Stellenbosch FC’s newly-crowned Footballer of the Season, Sage Stephens, is hoping to help turn the club’s fortunes around in next season’s Betway Premiership.
Stephens, 35, has been an integral part of the Winelands club's success over the past few seasons, but needed to be at his best this past season between the posts to keep Stellenbosch in the top flight.
The veteran goalkeeper kept 11 clean sheets in 39 appearances across all competitions—including helping Stellenbosch reach back-to-back MTN8 finals—and became the club’s all-time record appearance holder with 176 matches to his name.
“I wasn't expecting it,” Stephens said at a glittering awards evening at the Stellenbosch Town Hall on Tuesday.
“If you had to look at the season, the whole season... but just to know that my performances paid off a little bit because of the position we were in and where we find ourselves now. It's nice to know that I played a part in that.”
After finishing third for consecutive seasons, Stellenbosch currently finds itself in 9th position on the Betway Premiership table. They face a challenge to break into the top eight, requiring a minimum of a victory over Marumo Gallants in their final fixture on Saturday, while hoping that Durban City lose to AmaZulu in the KwaZulu-Natal derby.
Even that may still not be enough, as Durban City currently hold a four-goal advantage over Stellies.
Stephens, who also walked away with the Sportsman of the Season award for the second year running, admitted this past season has been a test of character.
“I think if I had to put it into perspective, I would say this season has been very humbling. I think with our past couple of seasons, we've been in the clouds. The club's been performing magnificently with the things we've achieved.
“I think this just brought us back down to say that maybe there are a few areas that we let slip. And I think this season's been two halves. We didn't start really well. We turned the ship a little bit, and then there were key moments where I think we let ourselves down, where we could have found ourselves comfortably in the top eight now.
“But let's see. It's all to play for in the last game of the season, so hopefully we can turn it around.”
Stellenbosch FC 2025/26 Award Winners.
Image: Supplied
Young striker Langelihle Phili also took home four awards, including the Players’ Player of the Season, Rama Fans’ Player of the Season, Oshwin Andries Young Player of the Season, and the Golden Boot.
Club captain Stephens was full of praise for the former South African U-20 forward.
“Funny enough, I told him before the awards... I said, 'If you don't get all the awards, I actually won't be very happy,' because I think he deserves it,” Stephens said.
“He's had a magnificent season. You can see with the numbers he's done this season, and it was at an important stage in our season when we were struggling a bit. He carried the team with his goals. It's nice to know that he got acknowledged like he did tonight, and deservedly so.”
The full list of 2025-26 Stellenbosch FC award winners:
Footballer of the Season – Sage Stephens
Sportsman of the Year – Sage Stephens (2nd award)
Players’ Player of the Season – Langelihle Phili
Young Player of the Season – Langelihle Phili
Golden Boot – Langelihle Phili
Rama Fans' Player of the Season – Langelihle Phili
DDC Footballer of the Season – Keenan Johanessen
DDC Sportsman of the Year – Liam Slade
DDC Golden Boot – Tauric Gamildien
CEO’s Award – Jean-Pierre Farrugia
Special Achievements – Thabo Moloisane and Genino Palace (100 appearances), Sage Stephens (club appearance record), Wesley-Irwin Sergel (300+ matches as assistant coach), and Lee Langeveldt (career achievement award).