sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Gianluca Catalano (born May 6, 2000) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario.

Gianluca Catalano

Catalano with Toronto FC III in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-05-06) May 6, 2000 (age 22)
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Vaughan Azzurri
Youth career
	Kleinburg Nobleton SC
2012–2018	Toronto FC
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–	Connecticut Huskies	19	(0)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Toronto FC III	28	(0)
2018	Toronto FC II	5	(0)
2019	AC Connecticut	9	(0)
2022–	Vaughan Azzurri	8	(0)
2022–	→ York United (loan)	1	(0)
National team‡
2017	Canada U17	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 21, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:41, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

Youth career

As a youth, he was a member of the TFC Academy.[1] He was 14 years old when he made his debut in the Canadian youth program in 2014, at an identification camp. He represented Canada at the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Panama and has represented Canada at the U15, U16, U17 and U18 level. He has also represented Toronto FC at multiple youth international soccer tournaments in France, Mexico, USA, and at the world famous Torneo di Viareggio in Italy, where he helped the TFC Academy to a 1-1 draw against the Juventus Academy.[2] He later helped them defeat Juventus saving the final shot in a penalty shootout in the championship finals to win the 2017 International Youth Soccer Cup.[3]

College career

In 2018, he accepted a scholarship to play for NCAA Division 1 University of Connecticut (UConn).[4] As a freshman, he started the season opener and won 2-1 vs Lehigh, advanced to the American Athletic Conference semi-finals, and lost to Indiana University in the 2nd round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, also known as the College Cup. As a sophomore in 2019, he was named Goalkeeper of the Week in October.[5] On February 24, 2020, he was named to the (FTF) NCAA All-Canadian 1st Team.[6]

Club career

He began his career in the semi-professional League1 Ontario playing for Toronto FC III and was selected to the 2017 League1 Ontario All-Star team.[7]

He made his fully professional league debut for Toronto FC II in the USL Championship as an academy call-up, on May 16, 2018 against Atlanta United 2.[8] He went on to play a total of 5 USL Championship games, including 4 starts, prior to joining UConn.[9]

In the spring of 2019, he joined AC Connecticut of the USL League Two (USL2) making 66 saves in 9 games[10] and was named the number two goalkeeping prospect as part of the league's Top 20 Under 20.[11] On November 20, 2019, he was nominated by the league for the 'Global Greats Series': Best Player from North America 2019, where he finished 3rd overall in voting.[12]

In 2022, he played for Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario.[13] Leading the team to a second consecutive undefeated League1 Premier Division regular season Championship as well as winning the Playoff Championship final which also qualified the team to the 2023 Canadian Championship.  He was named to the Gatorade team of the month for August, 2022. He went on trial with Canadian Premier League club York United FC, ahead of the 2022 season.[14] He served as an emergency substitute goalkeeper for York United during the season, and made a start for the club on July 1 against FC Edmonton.[15][16]

International career

In 2015, he was named to the Canadian U-15 team, for a CONCACAF tournament in Mexico City.[17] Later that same year, he was named to a U-18 development camp.[18] In 2017, he was named to the Canadian U17 team for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[19]

Career statistics

As of August 31, 2019[20]

Club	League	Season	League		Playoffs		Domestic Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Toronto FC III	League1 Ontario	2016[21]	9	0	—		—		?	0	9	0
		2017[22]	17	0	—		—		?	0	17	0
		2018[23]	2	0	—		—		1	0	3	0
	Total		28	0	—	—	—	—	1	0	29	0
Toronto FC II	USL	2018	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
AC Connecticut	USL League Two	2019[10]	9	0	—		—		—		9	0
Career Total			42	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	43	0

References

External links

• Gianluca Catalano at Soccerway
• Gianluca Catalano at USL Championship
• Gianluca Catalano at the Canadian Soccer Association

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