Dino Lopez (born 13 January 1969 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

retired

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 played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) 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 (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

USISL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

, National Professional Soccer League, and the Canadian Professional Soccer League.

Club career

The Jamaica-born defender was raised in

North York, Ontario North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

and has played in his career for York University who was named a 1989 OUA East All-Star. In 1987, he played in the

with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

, and ultimately played three seasons. In 1990, he played in the

for the

London Lasers The London Lasers were a professional soccer team in London, Ontario, Canada that played in the original Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League in 1990 and 1992. History The London Lasers were founded in 1990 as an expans ...

(1990, 1992),

Nova Scotia Clippers The Nova Scotia Clippers were a professional soccer team based in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but played their matches in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at Beazley Field. They played only a single season ...

(1991). He was an original member of the Montreal Impact. In 1994, he played for the Toronto Rockets, a team which lasted only one season in the APSL. In 1995, he signed with the

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage is a former professional United States, American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League (1995-2004), A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette a ...

where he would play the next three outdoor seasons. He retired following the 1997 season, but came out of retirement to play two games with the 1998 Rampage after injuries decimated the back line. In addition to his outdoor career, Lopez also spent several seasons playing winter indoor soccer. In 1995, he signed with the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. He also spent the 1996-1997 NSPL season with the

Toronto Shooting Stars Toronto Shooting Stars were an indoor soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 1996–1997 season, with home games taking place at Maple Leaf Gardens. However, the ownership of the fra ...

. In 1998, he signed with the newly expansion franchise the

Toronto Olympians Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in the newly formed Canadian Professional Soccer League. Throughout the 1998 CPSL season, Lopez achieved an undefeated streak with the Olympians the first club within the league to achieve this milestone. As well as winning the double by winning the regular season and the

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 ...

. The club reached the playoff finals but were defeated by the St. Catharines Wolves by 4–2 victory in a penalty shootout.

International career

He won one cap for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, playing his only game on 3 September 1992 in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Coaching career

From 2002 to 2006 Lopez was the U12 Development Director for the Oakville Soccer Club, and from 2006 to 2012 he coached the U-16 team. On July 24, 2012, the Oakville Soccer Club announced that he would take on the role of Technical Director at the club.

Honors

Toronto Olympians

(1): 1998 * Canadian Professional Soccer League Regular Season Champions (1): 1998

External links

* *
stats in CSL

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Dino 1969 births Living people Footballers from Kingston, Jamaica Soccer players from North York Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Jamaican emigrants to Canada Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Naturalized citizens of Canada Men's association football defenders London Lasers players Nova Scotia Clippers players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Durham Storm players Toronto Rockets (soccer) players Milwaukee Rampage players Buffalo Blizzard players Toronto Shooting Stars players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players American Professional Soccer League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Toronto Italia players Canadian National Soccer League players Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players Kitchener Spirit players Oakville SC non-playing staff 20th-century Canadian sportsmen