Jace Dayton Kotsopoulos (born December 1, 1997) 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 for Burlington SC in

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 ...

Early life

Kotsopoulos first played youth soccer with Oakville SC and Dixie SC. He joined Burlington SC at U13 level, playing until 2015 at the U19 level. When he was 16, he trained with the Spanish club Real Sociedad youth academy.

University career

Kotsopoulous attended 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 ...

playing for the men's soccer team for five years, where he set the school's all-time goal scoring record with 58 goals, beating the previous mark by nine goals. In his first season, he led the team with 11 goals, being named an OUA Second Team All-Star. In his second year, he led the

OUA Oua is an islet on the north-east of Nukufetau atoll, Tuvalu, next to Lafanga atoll. References

Islands of Tuvalu Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Nukufetau {{tuvalu-geo-stub ...

with 17 goals, being named to the OUA West Second Team All Star for the second year in a row, as Guelph won the OUA title and a national bronze medal. During his third year, he missed part of the season due to a meniscus tear and missed most of his fifth and final season due to a sprained ankle. In his third season, despite an injury, he was named an OUA West First Team All-Star and a

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

Second Team All Canadian after scoring ten goals in nine games. In his fourth year, he led the

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

with 15 goals in 17 games, being named the

men’s soccer player of the year as well as the OUA male athlete of the year, named OUA West MVP and an OUA First Team All-Star, and he was also named the

soccer player of the year, and was nominated for the

Male Athlete of the Year. In his final season in 2019, he struggled with injuries, but returned in the quarter-finals to score two goals to help Guelph to the OUA Final Four.

Club career

In 2018, Kotsopoulos played one league match for

side

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 ...

and scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

. He also played in three league cup matches, scoring three goals, including both of his team's goals in a 2-1 victory over

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 the final. On November 12, 2018, Kotsopoulos was drafted 3rd overall by

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 ...

in the 2018 CPL–U Sports Draft. On May 16, 2019, he signed a developmental contract with Forge. On June 12, 2019, Kotsopoulos made his debut as a substitute in the

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 ...

against

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches at ...

. He made his league debut as a substitute the following weekend, scoring the tying goal in a 2–1 come-from-behind win against

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 ...

, which qualified Forge for the

2019 CONCACAF League The 2019 CONCACAF League (officially the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the CONCACAF League, a football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Cent ...

, and made him one of the youngest goalscorers in league history. In August 2019, Kotsopoulos opted to return to the

to finish his final semester. He finished the season with two goals in five substitute appearances, including an appearance in the

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF as its second-tier continental competition. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The competition uses a knockout cup format with each round having two leg ...

. On August 9, 2020, York9 announced the signing of Kotsopolous. He made his debut on August 22 against

, which was his only appearance in the short 2020 season. On March 13, 2021, Kotsopoulos became the first ever player to sign with

expansion side Guelph United. In his debut on July 30, he scored a hat trick against

FC London FC London is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in London, Ontario. The club was founded in 2008 and plays in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The team plays home games at the Portuguese Club of London and the Hellen ...

. He led the league in scoring in 2021 with 15 goals in the regular season, and helped the team win the league championship, scoring twice in Guelph's 3-1 victory over

Blue Devils FC Blue Devils Football Club (formerly known as Oakville Blue Devils FC) is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakville, Ontario. The senior men's and women's teams currently compete in League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. History ...

in the championship final. For the 2021 season, he was named West Division MVP, a West Division All-Star, and won the league Golden Boot. In October 2022, he signed with FC Berlin in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...

. In January 2023, he joined Burlington SC, his former youth club, in

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotsopoulos, Jace 1997 births Living people Association football forwards Canadian soccer players Soccer people from Ontario Sportspeople from Burlington, Ontario Canadian people of Greek descent Forge FC draft picks Forge FC players York United FC players League1 Ontario players Canadian Premier League players University and college soccer players in Canada Vaughan Azzurri players Guelph United F.C. players Burlington SC (League1 Ontario) players FC Berlin (Canada/United States) players United Premier Soccer League players Guelph Gryphons men's soccer players