Lukas Michael MacNaughton (born March 8, 1995) is a 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 defender for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club Toronto FC. Born in the United States and raised in Belgium, he represents Canada at international level.

Early life

MacNaughton was born in New York City to an Austrian mother and a Canadian father. When he was seven, he moved to Brussels, Belgium with his family. He played youth soccer with Royale Union Rixensartoise from under-8, until the age of 16, after which he left the club and then played for his school team, International School of Brussels.

College career

After attending high school at the International School of Brussels, he moved to Canada to attend the University of Toronto, where he also played for the Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team from 2013 to 2017, where he also served as team captain starting in his second year. He scored his first goal on September 3, 2014, against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. He was named an OUA East first-team all-star four times from 2014 to 2017, a CIS second team all-Canadian in 2015, and U Sports second team all-Canadian in 2017. He led the team in goals in 2016. After playing for UofT, he had a trial with Toronto FC II.

Club career

In 2016 and 2017, MacNaughton played his summer soccer with League1 Ontario side North Toronto Nitros, making a total of nine appearances and scoring four goals over two seasons. In 2018, MacNaughton played for League1 Ontario side Alliance United FC, making eight appearances. MacNaughton signed for Canadian Premier League club Pacific FC in March 2019. He made his debut in Pacific FC's inaugural match as a starter and received two yellow cards, becoming the club's first ever sent off player in a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers. MacNaughton scored his first goal for Pacific FC on July 31, netting a header against Valour FC in an eventual 2-2 draw. He made twenty league appearances that season, scoring two goals, and made two appearances 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 ...

. On January 17, 2020, MacNaughton re-signed with Pacific for the 2020 season. In November 2020, he once again re-signed for the 2021 season. On January 25, 2022, MacNaughton transferred to MLS side Toronto FC on a two-year contract, with club options for 2024 and 2025, for a rumoured transfer fee of $175k. He made his debut on March 5, coming on as a substitute in a 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls. He scored his first goal for Toronto FC on July 26 in the

2022 Canadian Championship Final The 2022 Canadian Championship Final was an association football match played between Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Toronto FC at BC Place on July 26, 2022. The match determined the winner of the 2022 Canadian Championship, Canada's primary men's do ...

against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

International career

MacNaughton was born in the United States (to a Canadian father and his mother was born in Lebanon to Austrian parents). He grew up in Belgium and holds citizenship of Belgium, United States, and Canada. He represented Canada at the 2015 FISU Universiade Games and 2017 FISU Universiade Games. He scored against Brazil during the 2017 Games. MacNaughton was called up to the Canada men's national soccer team for the first time in November 2022, for a friendly against Bahrain ahead of the

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...

. On November 11, he made his debut for the team, coming on as a substitute. He travelled and trained with the team at the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

, although was not an official member of the 26 man roster.

Personal life

He works as a model for Sutherland Models. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in architecture and worked as an architect for a few months before joining Pacific FC.

Honours

Club

Pacific FC * Canadian Premier League:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Toronto FC *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacNaughton, Lukas 1995 births Living people Footballers from Brussels Soccer players from New York City Canadian soccer players Belgian footballers Canadian people of Austrian descent Belgian people of Austrian descent Belgian people of Canadian descent Association football defenders Citizens of Canada through descent Toronto Varsity Blues soccer players Alliance United FC players North Toronto Nitros players League1 Ontario players Pacific FC players Canadian Premier League players Toronto FC players Major League Soccer players Competitors at the 2015 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2017 Summer Universiade