Anthony Joseph Novak (born March 27, 1994) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

Early life

Novak was born in

Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 Canadian census, 2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region, Ontario, Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily British colon ...

and began playing youth soccer with Pickering SC. He played as a goalkeeper in his youth with Wexford SC, Glen Shields SC, as well as the Durham regional program. He later joined the youth system of 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 D ...

College career

In 2012, he committed to attend

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. History Lake Erie Female Seminary The semi ...

, where he would play four seasons of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

soccer. He scored his first collegiate goal on September 2, 2012 against In 2013, he was earned All-Ohio Division II honours. In 2014, he was named to the All- GLIAC First Team, All-Ohio First-Team, and All-Midwest Region Third Team honours. On October 25, 2015, he scored a hat-tick against the

Walsh Cavaliers The Walsh Cavaliers are the athletic teams that represent Walsh University, located in North Canton, Ohio, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Cavaliers compete as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for ...

. In 2015, he earned All-Midwest Second-Team, All-GLIAC Second-Team, and All-Ohio Second-Team honours. During his time with Lake Erie, he made two appearances as a goalkeeper, starting a match against the

Tiffin Dragons The Tiffin Dragons are the athletic teams that represent Tiffin University, located in Tiffin, Ohio, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Dragons compete as members of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference for varsit ...

on October 23, 2013 and taking over late in a match against the

Seton Hill Griffins Seton Hill University is a private Catholic university in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002 and enrolls about 2,200 students. History The school was founded i ...

, following a red card to the starting goalkeeper on September 5, 2015.

Club career

From 2012 to 2014, he played with the

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. In 2015, he began playing with

Oakville Blue Devils FC Blue Devils Football Club (formerly known as Oakville Blue Devils FC) was a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakville, Ontario in League1 Ontario's men's and League1 Ontario (women), women's divisions. In October 2024, they merged under ...

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

, who re-branded from the Lynx, upon the Lynx's folding. On April 29, 2018, he scored a hat trick in the season opener in a 5-0 victory over

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. In 2024, their senior teams became known as Scarborough Town FC, while the youth clu ...

. In 2015, he was named a league Mid-Season All-Star. In 2017 and 2018, he played in the league all star games against the PLSQ. On August 12, 2018, he scored another hat-trick in a 5-0 victory over

Ottawa South United Ottawa South United is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer team based in Manotick, Ontario, a community in the rural south part of Ottawa that plays in Ligue1 Québec. The club previously competed in League1 Ontario. The cl ...

. In 2018, he won the league's Golden Boot as the top goal-scorer with 18 goals during the season and was also named a league First Team All-Star. With the Blue Devils, he won the L1O championship in both 2015 and 2017. In April 2019, he joined

Forge FC Forge FC, also known as Forge Football Club, Forge FC Hamilton, or Hamilton Forge FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadia ...

in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

, after participating in a two-week trial with the club during their pre-season. On May 8, he made his debut for the club against

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

, also scoring his first goal for the club, scoring just three minutes into the match. On August 13, 2020, he scored an overhead kick goal 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 ...

. On October 22, 2020, he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over

Municipal Limeño A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of El Salvador in a

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The compet ...

match and added an assist in a victory against Panamanian club

Tauro FC The Tauro Fútbol Club is a professional soccer club based in the district of Pedregal east of Panama City, Panama. It was founded on 22 September 1984 and has participated in the Panamanian Football League (LPF) since 1988. Its founder, Gianca ...

. With Forge, he won the league championship in both 2019 and 2020. Over his two seasons with Forge, he scored nine goals and added five assists in 32 matches across all competitions. In February 2021, he signed his first contract abroad, joining Campeonato de Portugal side Clube Condeixa. He joined on a contract until the end of the 2020/2021 season. He recorded his first assist in a 1-0 win over

Vitória de Sernache Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. In April 2021, he returned to the Canadian Premier League, signing a multi-year contract with

. He made the 3400 km trip to Calgary from Ontario entirely by car, upon his signing. He scored two goals against his former club Forge that season. In March 2022, he tore his lateral collateral ligament, which required surgery, causing him to miss the entire 2022 season. In March 2023, he signed with

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

in the

. He scored his first goal for the club in the season opener on April 16, against

York United FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

Career statistics

Honours

Forge FC *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 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 even ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Anthony 1994 births Living people Men's association football forwards Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Pickering, Ontario Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Toronto Lynx players Lake Erie Storm men's soccer players Blue Devils FC players Forge FC players Cavalry FC players Valour FC players USL League Two players League1 Ontario players Canadian Premier League players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen