Austin Ricci (born April 8, 1996) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Early life

Ricci played youth soccer with Richmond Hill SC. In 2010, he joined Ajax SC. Ricci played high school soccer for the St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School Lions, winning gold at

OFSAA The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

in 2014, and being named MVP of the team for three consecutive seasons.

College career

In February 2014, he committed to

Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...

to play for the men's soccer team in the fall. He scored his first goal on September 12, 2014 against the

Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving ...

. He won the

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

with the team in his freshman season in 2014. In 2015, he was named

Co-Offensive Player of the Year and a Horizon League First-Team All Star, and was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Second Team. In his junior season in 2016, he was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Third Team. In his senior season in 2017, he was named a Horizon League First-Team All-Star.

Club career

In 2014 and 2015, he appeared for

Vaughan Azzurri Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

. In 2016, he played for

K-W United FC The Kennedy K-W is an American high-wing, strut-braced, single-seat glider that was designed by Harold Kennedy of Dodge City, Kansas, with assistance from Floyd Watson. The aircraft is notable for being assembled from certified powered airc ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. He scored a hat trick in the season opener on May 17 against

Toronto FC III Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. He played for the

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

in the

in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, he won the Great Lakes Division with the team. On July 10, 2018, he scored four goals and added four assists in a 14-1 victory over the

Derby City Rovers Derby City Rovers were an American semi-professional soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Derby City was also known for their elite-level youth teams that played in local, state, regional and national leagues. Founded in 201 ...

, a performance which earned him PDL Player of the Week honours. He later returned to Vaughan Azzurri in 2018, scoring six goals in twelve appearances, across the regular season and playoffs, as Vaughan won the league title. In December 2018, Ricci signed his first professional contract with

side York 9 FC for the 2019 season. He made 11 appearances for the club in 2019 across all competitions, tallying one assist. In February 2020, he went on trial with

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...

, also in the Canadian Premier League, and had been set to sign a contract in March, when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

hit, delaying the signing. In July 2020, he officially signed with the club. In his first season with the club, he made six appearances during the shortened season, drawing two earning two penalty kicks for the team. In November 2020, he re-signed with the club. On June 27, 2021, he scored his first professional goal in a match against

Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...

. His second goal gave his team a 1-0 victory over

on July 11. On July 19, he scored a brace to help Valour to a 3-0 victory over

. He was named to the CPL Team of the Week three times in 2021. On August 22, 2021, he scored a brace against

Atlético Ottawa Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place Stadium, TD Place. The team was founded in 2020 by Spa ...

in a

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

match, to help lead Valour to their first ever victory in the competition. He finished as the top goalscorer in the 2021 Canadian Championship domestic cup compeition, winning the Golden Boot, with three goals. His season was cut short after he was injured in a collision with

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

goalkeeper Triston Henry during a match in September. In March 2022, he went on trial with his former club

(who had previously been York9 during his last stint). In April 2022, he officially signed with the club for the 2022 season. He joined on a one-year contract with club options through 2024. On May 11, he re-aggravated his knee injury against

in a

match, forcing him to undergo surgery, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. In October 2022, he re-signed with the club for the 2023 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricci, Austin 1996 births Living people Association football forwards Canadian soccer players Soccer people from Ontario Sportspeople from Richmond Hill, Ontario Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's soccer players K-W United FC players Flint City Bucks players York United FC players Valour FC players USL League Two players League1 Ontario players Canadian Premier League players Vaughan Azzurri players