Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | April 8, 1996 | ||
Place of birth | Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | York United FC | ||
Number | 22 | ||
Youth career | |||
Richmond Hill SC | |||
2010–2013 | Ajax SC | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
2014–2017 | Oakland Golden Grizzlies | 71 | (22) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | ( Gls) |
2014–2015 | Vaughan Azzurri | ||
2016 | K-W United FC | 7 | (3) |
2017–2018 | Michigan Bucks | 28 | (17) |
2018 | Vaughan Azzurri | 8 | (5) |
2019 | York9 FC | 9 | (0) |
2020–2021 | Valour FC | 22 | (5) |
2022– | York United FC | 29 | (3) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 7, 2023 |
Austin Ricci (born April 8, 1996) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for York United FC of the Canadian Premier League.
Ricci played youth soccer with Richmond Hill SC. In 2010, he joined Ajax SC. [1]
Ricci played high school soccer for the St. Theresa of Lisieux Catholic High School Lions, winning gold at OFSAA in 2014, [2] [3] and being named MVP of the team for three consecutive seasons. [4]
In February 2014, he committed to Oakland University to play for the men's soccer team in the fall. [5] He scored his first goal on September 12, 2014 against the Denver Pioneers. [6] He won the Horizon League with the team in his freshman season in 2014. [7] In 2015, he was named Horizon League Co-Offensive Player of the Year and a Horizon League First-Team All Star, [8] and was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Second Team. [9] In his junior season in 2016, he was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Third Team. [10] In his senior season in 2017, he was named a Horizon League First-Team All-Star. [11]
In 2014 and 2015, he appeared for Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario. [12]
In 2016, he played for K-W United FC in the Premier Development League. [13] He scored a hat trick in the season opener on May 17 against Toronto FC III. [14]
He played for the Michigan Bucks in the Premier Development League in 2017 and 2018. [15] [16] In 2017, he won the Great Lakes Division with the team. [17] On July 10, 2018, he scored four goals and added four assists in a 14-1 victory over the Derby City Rovers, [18] a performance which earned him PDL Player of the Week honours. [19]
He later returned to Vaughan Azzurri in 2018, scoring six goals in twelve appearances, across the regular season and playoffs, as Vaughan won the league title. [20]
In December 2018, Ricci signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side York 9 FC for the 2019 season. [21] [22] He made 11 appearances for the club in 2019 across all competitions, tallying one assist. [23]
In February 2020, he went on trial with Valour FC, also in the Canadian Premier League, and had been set to sign a contract in March, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, delaying the signing. [24] [25] In July 2020, he officially signed with the club. [26] [27] In his first season with the club, he made six appearances during the shortened season, drawing two earning two penalty kicks for the team. [28] [29] In November 2020, he re-signed with the club. [30] [31] On June 27, 2021, he scored his first professional goal in a match against Forge FC. [32] His second goal gave his team a 1-0 victory over Forge FC on July 11. [33] On July 19, he scored a brace to help Valour to a 3-0 victory over York United FC. [34] He was named to the CPL Team of the Week three times in 2021. [35] On August 22, 2021, he scored a brace against Atlético Ottawa in a Canadian Championship match, to help lead Valour to their first ever victory in the competition. [36] He finished as the top goalscorer in the 2021 Canadian Championship domestic cup competition, winning the Golden Boot, with three goals. [37] His season was cut short after he was injured in a collision with Forge goalkeeper Triston Henry during a match in September. [38] [39]
In March 2022, he went on trial with his former club York United FC (who had previously been York9 during his last stint). [40] [41] In April 2022, he officially signed with the club for the 2022 season. [42] [43] He joined on a one-year contract with club options through 2024. [44] On May 11, he re-aggravated his knee injury against Atlético Ottawa in a Canadian Championship match, [45] [46] forcing him to undergo surgery, causing him to miss the remainder of the season. [47] [48] In October 2022, he re-signed with the club for the 2023 season. [49]
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic cup | League cup | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
K-W United FC | 2016 [13] | Premier Development League | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 3 | ||
Michigan Bucks | 2017 [15] | Premier Development League | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 5 | |
2018 [16] | 14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 12 | |||
Total | 28 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 30 | 17 | |||
Vaughan Azzurri | 2018 [51] | League1 Ontario | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | |
York9 FC | 2019 | Canadian Premier League | 9 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | ||
Valour FC | 2020 | Canadian Premier League | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
2021 | 16 | 5 | — | 2 | 3 | — | 18 | 8 | ||||
Total | 22 | 5 | — | 2 | 3 | — | 24 | 8 | ||||
York United FC | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
2023 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 3 | |||
Total | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 32 | 3 | |||
Career total | 101 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 37 |