Shawn Faria (born June 28, 1978) is a Canadian former soccer player who played the majority of his career with the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

and had several stints with various clubs in the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

Playing career

Faria began playing soccer at the youth level with the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

from 1997 till 1999. In 1999, Faria signed his first professional contract with

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut for the club on June 7, 1999 against

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

in a 2-0 victory. He would return to professional soccer in 2002 to sign with the

in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

. He scored his first professional goal July 30, 2002 against the

Calgary Storm Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

. After the 2002 A-League season came to a conclusion he was loaned to the

Mississauga Olympians Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

in the CPSL. He made his debut on September 11, 2002 in an

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional So ...

match against the

where he scored a goal in a 1-1 draw. He helped the Olympians secure a playoff berth by finishing second in the Western Conference, but unfortunately were defeated by the

North York Astros The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Cana ...

in a wild card match. Faria was re-signed by the Lynx for the 2003 season on March 18, 2003. On April 7, 2004 his signing was announced in a press conference where he was also appointed the new team captain succeeding

Theo Zagar Theodosis Zagar (born November 2, 1974) is a Canadian former goalkeeper, who had a notable tenure with the Toronto Lynx of the USL First Division, and played indoor soccer in the National Professional Soccer League. Playing career Before Zaga ...

, who was transferred to rivals

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. He missed most of the season due to a leg injury, but returned to play in 18 matches and score 2 goals. Due to injuries he was released from his contract on June 7, 2005, in order to make room on the roster for new signings. Faria was signed by the expansion franchise Oakville Blue Devils of the

, where he helped the Blue Devils reach the playoffs. In the Western Conference semi-final on October 5, 2005, he scored the opening goal for the Blue Devils, which would result in a 3-2 victory over the

Windsor Border Stars Windsor TFC is a Canadian soccer team based in Windsor, Ontario, that was founded in 2004. They have competed in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) and Canadian Soccer League (CSL). Throughout their tenure in the CPSL/CSL, Windsor w ...

. He helped lead Oakville to the CPSL Championship final, where they defeated

Vaughan Shooters Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

to a score of 2–1. On August 1, 2006 the Toronto Lynx announced the return of Faria. He helped the Lynx to a 10-game undefeated streak at home, and also reached the finals of the

, but he did not feature in the match where the Lynx finished runners up to

Ottawa St. Anthony Italia The Ottawa St. Anthony Italia is an amateur soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club was founded in 1952 as the St. Anthony men's soccer team and played in a local league. In 1959, the team consolidated with another local team known as ...

losing 2–0. After the 2006 season, the Lynx franchise dropped two divisions down to the PDL, which resulted in the Lynx to release most of their senior players from their contracts. He is now a teacher at St. Rock Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. Shawn is also a part time coach for the 2007 North Miss Soccer Club OPDL youth team.

Managerial career

Since retiring from soccer Faria is currently the Director of Female Program and Showcase Team for the Winstars Soccer Academy. Faria coached from 2006 until 2010 the Golden Eagles A team U-14 of the Erin Mills SC.New Club Logo , Erin Mills Soccer Club
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Shawn Living people 1978 births Soccer players from Mississauga Canadian soccer players Association football midfielders Louisville Cardinals men's soccer players Toronto Croatia players Toronto Lynx players Toronto (Mississauga) Olympians players Brampton United players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players A-League (1995–2004) players Canadian people of Portuguese descent