Christian Zeppieri (born May 4, 2003) 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 for

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 ...

and also plays in

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

for the

York Lions The York Lions is the official name for the athletic varsity teams that represent York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports and, where applicable ...

Early life

Zeppieri played youth soccer with

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 the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

and also spent a year playing club soccer in Italy.

University career

In 2023, Zeppieri began attending

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. In the first game of the 2023 season on September 1, he scored the tying goal via a penalty kick in a 1-1 draw against the

Laurier Golden Hawks The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, commonly shortened to Laurier Golden Hawks, is the name used by the varsity sports teams of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario Universit ...

. In his rookie season, he was twice named the

Athlete of the Week. He helped York advance to the OUA final, but missed the final due to suspension, after earning a second yellow card in the semi-final after removing his jersey in celebration after scoring a goal. At the end of his rookie season, he was named the OUA West MVP and an OUA First Team All-Star, and was also named a

First Team All-Canadian. He was also name the school's Male Athlete of the Year for 2023-24. In 2024, he was again named the OUA West MVP and an OUA West First Team All-Star, and was also award the

Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy The Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the most outstanding U Sports men's soccer player. The trophy was donated by the family of the longtime university soccer coach in memory of his contribution to university soccer. The selectio ...

, as the most outstanding player of

men's soccer.

Club career

In 2021 and 2023, Zeppieri played with

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 ...

. At the 2024 CPL-U Sports Draft, Zeppieri was selected in the first round (fourth overall) by

. In April 2024, he signed a U Sports contract with the club, allowing him to maintain his university eligibility. In August 2024, he departed the club to return to university, with the club retaining his rights for the 2025 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeppieri, Christian 2003 births Living people Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from Vaughan Vaughan Azzurri players Toronto FC Academy players League1 Ontario players York United FC draft picks York United FC players Canadian Premier League players York Lions men's soccer players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen University and college men's soccer players in Canada York United FC Academy players