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Guelph United F.C.

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Guelph United F.C. (men)
Guelph Union (women)
Full nameGuelph United Football Club
Founded2020
StadiumAlumni Stadium
Capacity8500
OwnersKeith Mason, Benny Mezezi, and Ami Mezezi
Head CoachKeith Mason & Justin Springer (men)
Onkar Dhillon (women)
LeagueLeague1 Ontario
2022League1 Ontario, 7th (men)
League1 Ontario, 13th (women)
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Guelph United Football Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Guelph, Ontario that plays in League1 Ontario. The women's team is known as Guelph Union and competes in the League1 Ontario women's division. Both teams play at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium.[1]

History

Men

University of Guelph Gryphons and Guelph SC

Guelph United F.C. was founded in 2020 by Keith Mason, Benny Mezezi, and Ami Mezezi,[2] in partnership with the University of Guelph Gryphons, the Guelph Soccer Club, and the City of Guelph[3] with the goal of bringing semi-professional soccer to the community.[4] Guelph Gryphons head and assistant coaches Keith Mason and Justin Springer were announced as the team's associate coaches.[5] The team is expected to be primarily composed of University of Guelph players, supplemented by local players.[6]

The club joined League1 Ontario for the 2021 season and will also field a team in the reserve division.[6] Ahead of their debut, they made headlines signing former Canadian Premier League player Jace Kotsopoulos as the team's first ever player.[7][8] They made their debut on July 30, 2021 defeating FC London by a score of 6-0.[9] In their first season, they came in first place in the West Division, advancing to the playoffs, with their team featuring three of the top four regular season goal scoring leaders.[10][11] In the playoffs, they won the League1 Ontario title, after defeating Blue Devils FC 3-1 in the finals, qualifying them for the 2022 Canadian Championship.[12] They were defeated in the first round of the Canadian Championship by professional club HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League 2-0.[13][14][15]

Women

Guelph Union was founded by the Guelph Soccer Club[16] to join the League1 Ontario women's division for the 2021 season.[17][18] The women's team exists as a separate entity from the men's team.[19] Prior to this the Guelph Soccer Club had fielded four teams in the Ontario Women's Soccer League.[20] They made their debut in the 2021 Summer Championship season on July 22, 2021, defeating Darby FC 1-0.[21] The club partnered with the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington as their charitable partner, donating fifty percent of the revenue from their ticket sales to the organization.[22][23] In their debut season, they participated in the short-season Summer Championship division, finishing with a perfect 6-0 record to win the division.[24] In 2022, they began playing in the main division (after opting to play in the short-season division in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), winning their debut match 1-0 over Darby FC.[25] They finished their inaugural season in the main division in 13th place.[26]

Players and staff

Current roster

as of April 21, 2022[27]

No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Samuel Spoelstra  Canada
3 DF Marko Maletic  Canada
4 MF Amardo Oakley  Canada
5 DF Harvey Marchant  England
6 DF Ian Vidovich  Canada
7 MF Alexander Zis  Canada
8 FW Tomasz Skublak  Canada
9 FW Jared Agyemang  Canada
10 FW Jace Kotsopoulos  Canada
11 MF Evan Dick  Canada
12 FW Marcel Zajac  Canada
13 DF Luke Rankin  Canada
14 MF Lucas Doros  Canada
15 MF Dion Stergiotis  Canada
16 MF Jack Sears  Canada
17 FW Owen Sheppard  Canada
18 DF Devante Walker  Canada
— DF Cole Fernandez  Canada
— MF Nicolás Galvis  Canada
— DF Parmpreet Johal  Canada
— DF Tedi Lisi  Albania
— GK Carter Robart  Canada
— FW Gray Yates  Canada

Coaching staff

as of March 30, 2021[28]

Name Position
England Keith Mason Men's Associate coach
Saint Kitts and Nevis Justin Springer Men's Associate coach
Canada Don Ferguson Men's Goalkeeper coach

Seasons

Guelph United

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs Ref
2021 League1 Ontario 15 10–0–2 1st, West (2nd overall) Champions [29]
2022 22 13–3–5 7th DNQ

Guelph Union

Season League Teams Record Rank Playoffs Ref
2021 League1 Ontario Summer Championship 7 6–0–0 Champions – [30]
2022 League1 Ontario 20 7–9–3 13th DNQ

Notable former players

The following players have either played at the professional or international level, either before or after playing for the League1 Ontario team:

Men

Women

References

  1. ^ "New, Semi-Pro Soccer Franchises Coming to Guelph in 2021". University of Guelph. February 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "Our Story". Guelph United F.C.
  3. ^ "League1 Ontario adds four men's teams for 2021". League1 Ontario. January 28, 2021.
  4. ^ "New soccer team revealed for Guelph". Guelph Mercury Tribune. January 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Jacques, John (January 28, 2021). "League1 Ontario Adds Four New Teams". Northern Tribune.
  6. ^ a b Massey, Rob (January 29, 2021). "Top level men's soccer returns to town in the form of Guelph United FC". Guelph Today.
  7. ^ @guelphunitedfc (March 13, 2021). "(1/2) We are excited to announce a big moment in the history of our club: our inaugural signing! We are proud and honoured to welcome Jace Kotsopoulos! Jace's goal scoring record is well documented but his leadership qualities will also be a huge asset in the dressing room and..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Reid, Brady (April 19, 2021). "'A family club': Strong sense of community spelling early success for Guelph United". League1 Ontario.
  9. ^ "Game on! Guelph United, Union kick off inaugural soccer seasons". Guelph Mercury. August 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Guelph United wraps up first place". Guelph Today. October 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Hodges, Mike (October 29, 2021). "Guelph United F.C. hosts first playoff game this weekend". Global News.
  12. ^ Cheng, Jonathan (November 7, 2021). "Guelph United downs Blue Devils 3-1 to win 2021 L1O Men's title, qualify for CanChamp". League1 Ontario.
  13. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (May 9, 2022). "'A Hollywood script': Guelph United's meteoric rise in L1O ahead of CanChamp clash vs. HFX Wanderers". Canadian Premier League.
  14. ^ Massey, Rob (May 9, 2022). "David meets Goliath Tuesday as Guelph United FC plays its biggest game ever". Guelph Today.
  15. ^ Massey, Rob (May 11, 2022). "Underdog Guelph United gives the effort but can't get the result". Guelph Today.
  16. ^ Bekavac, Ned (February 5, 2021). "Guelph soccer squad named to elite provincial league". Guelph Mercury Tribune.
  17. ^ "League1 Ontario adds three women's teams for 2021". League1 Ontario. February 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "Guelph Union to Join as new team in Women's League1 Ontario". Guelph Soccer Club. February 3, 2021.
  19. ^ Reid, Brady (May 13, 2021). "Guelph Union bringing new opportunity to the city on and off the pitch". League1 Ontario.
  20. ^ Massey, Rob (February 3, 2021). "New Guelph Union to provide top-flight women's soccer". Guelph Today.
  21. ^ Hodges, Mike (August 6, 2021). "Guelph Union looking forward to home opener". Global News.
  22. ^ "Game on! Guelph United, Union kick off inaugural soccer seasons". Guelph Mercury Tribune. August 7, 2021.
  23. ^ "Guelph Union hosts first-ever League 1 Ontario Home Game". Guelph Today. August 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Guelph Union 2021 Season". League1 Ontario.
  25. ^ Massey, Rob (April 25, 2022). "Guelph Union looking for big season on provincial women's soccer scene". Guelph Today.
  26. ^ "A Bluffer's Guide to Guelph Union". League1 Ontario. November 10, 2022.
  27. ^ "Guelph United FC roster". Guelph United F.C.
  28. ^ "Our coaches have experience coaching and playing at the highest levels in Canada". Guelph United F.C.
  29. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Men's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
  30. ^ "League1 Ontario Historical Standings Women's Division". Canadian Soccer History Archives.
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