Christopher Lee (born August 14, 2001) is a Canadian

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 defender for

Nautsa’mawt FC Nautsa’mawt Football Club (formerly known as Varsity FC) is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in West Point Grey, Vancouver, British Columbia that plays in League1 British Columbia. History Varsity FC Varsity FC was officially u ...

League1 British Columbia League1 British Columbia (L1BC) is a semi-professional men's and women's association football, soccer league in British Columbia, Canada, which began play in May 2022. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the British ...

Early life

Lee was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia before moving to

West Vancouver, British Columbia West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...

when he was three, where he began playing youth soccer for West Vancouver SC when he was seven. He later joined Mountain United SC and then joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy in August 2015.

College career

In 2020, Lee decided to attend the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and join their men's soccer team, although his debut season was cancelled due to 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 ...

. In 2021, he won the

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

title with UBC, was named to the Canada West All-Rookie Team, and was an Academic All-Canadian.

Club career

In the 2021 CPL-U Sports Draft, he was selected fifth overall by

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 201 ...

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 ...

. In June 2021, he signed a developmental contract with Pacific for the 2021 season, allowing him to retain his university eligibility. He made his debut on June 26 against the

HFX Wanderers HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer le ...

. In August 2020, Pacific coach

Pa-Modou Kah Pa Modou Kah (born 30 July 1980) is a Norwegian Association football, football coach and former footballer who currently serves as an assistant coach with Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer. Club career Vålerenga Born in Banjul, The Gambia, ...

confirmed that Lee was returning to the

in the fall, and that the team was interested in having him return to the club for the 2022 season. In March 2022, he signed for

Whitecaps FC 2 Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer. History Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteration the team played its h ...

, ahead of the revived club's inaugural season in

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS club ...

. In July 2022, he joined the

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

on two short-term loans for their matches against

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

and

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

. After the season, Whitecaps 2 declined his club option for 2023. In 2023, he joined

International career

In 2016, he attended a camp for the Canada U15 national team.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Chris 2001 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian men's soccer players Soccer people from British Columbia Pacific FC draft picks Pacific FC players Canadian Premier League players Sportspeople from North Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 players MLS Next Pro players Whitecaps FC Academy players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer players League1 British Columbia players Nautsa’mawt FC players