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 D ...

in the

USL First Division 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 ...

and had several stints with various clubs in the

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 ...

Playing career

Faria began playing soccer at the youth level with the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

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

Toronto Croatia C.N.S.C. Toronto Croatia (Croatian National Sports Club Toronto Croatia) is a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that plays in the Supergroup Open Division in the Canadian Academy of Football. The team's colours are red, white and b ...

of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut for the club on June 7, 1999, against St. Catharines Wolves in a 2–0 victory. He would return to professional soccer in 2002 to sign with the

in the

USL 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 ...

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

Calgary Storm The Calgary Mustangs (formerly the Calgary Storm and Team Calgary) were a soccer team in Calgary, Alberta, that played in the semi-professional Premier Development League, USL Premier Development League in 2001 and the professional A-League (199 ...

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

Mississauga Olympians Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

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 ...

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, Ca ...

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 Zag ...

, who was transferred to rivals

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. 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 City FC (formerly Windsor Border Stars, Windsor Stars, and Windsor TFC) is a Canadian association football, soccer team, based in Windsor, Ontario, that plays in League1 Ontario. The club was founded in 2004 and has previously competed ...

. He helped lead Oakville to the

CPSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final, or CSL Championship, is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion as in other North American sports lea ...

final, where they defeated

Vaughan Shooters Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) 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 increa ...

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 "I ...

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. In November 2023, Faria was appointed as the girl's technical director for Burlington Force Soccer Academy.

References

External links

Winstars Soccer Academy profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Shawn Living people 1978 births Soccer players from Mississauga Canadian men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Louisville Cardinals men's soccer players Toronto Croatia players Toronto Lynx players Durham Storm players Brampton City United FC players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players A-League (1995–2004) players Canadian people of Portuguese descent Sportspeople of Portuguese descent