Colin Gander (born January 12, 2000) 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 Guelph United FC in League1 Ontario.

Early life

In his youth, Gander played youth soccer with Kitchener SC, later joining the Toronto FC Academy.

College/University career

In 2019, Gander began attending

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

, where he joined the men's soccer team, although he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the 2019-20 Missouri Valley Conference season. In 2020, Gander transferred to the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

joining the men's soccer team, although his inaugural season was delayed until the 2021-22 school year, due to the season being cancelled by 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 ...

. He scored his first goal on October 22, against the Brock Badgers. In the 2021–22 season, he won the OUA title. In 2023, Gander began his MBA at the

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

joining the men's soccer team.

Club career

In 2017 and 2018, he played with

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 ...

in League1 Ontario. In 2020, he trained with

Toronto Skillz FC Toronto Skillz FC is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in the Scarborough, Toronto, Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario. The club was founded in 2008 and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario ...

. In 2021, he played with Guelph United F.C. At the 2022 CPL-U Sports Draft, Gander was selected in the second round (eleventh overall) by 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 April 2022, he signed a developmental contract with the Wanderers, which allows him to maintain his university eligibility. He made his debut on April 16, coming on as a substitute against Atlético Ottawa. In mid-August, as part of his developmental contract, he departed the team to return to play for his university. In 2023, he returned to Guelph United FC. He then re-signed with the team for the 2024 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gander, Colinb 2000 births Living people Soccer people from Ontario Sportspeople from Kitchener, Ontario Men's association football defenders Canadian Premier League players League1 Ontario players Canadian men's soccer players Toronto FC players Toronto Skillz FC players HFX Wanderers FC players HFX Wanderers FC draft picks Guelph United F.C. players Guelph Gryphons men's soccer players Toronto FC Academy players