Niko Giantsopoulos

Nikolaos Giantsopoulos (born June 24, 1994) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for York United in the Canadian Premier League.

Niko Giantsopoulos
Giantsopoulos with York United in 2022
Personal information
Full name Nikolaos Giantsopoulos
Date of birth (1994-06-24) June 24, 1994
Place of birth Markham, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 York United
Number 1
Youth career
Unionville Milliken SC
Pickering SC
Ajax SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Adrian Bulldogs 35 (0)
2014–2015 Calvin Knights 47 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Durham United FC 0 (0)
2015 Ocala Stampede 7 (0)
2016 Devonport City 21 (0)
2017 Broadmeadow Magic 19 (0)
2018 Launceston City 21 (0)
2019–2020 Cavalry FC 6 (0)
2021– York United 49 (0)
2022 → Vancouver Whitecaps FC (loan) 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 7, 2023

Early life

Giantsopoulos played youth soccer with Unionville Milliken SC,[1] Pickering SC,[2] and Ajax SC.[3] With Ajax, he won the national U18 championship in 2011.[4]

College career

Adrian College

In 2012, he began his college career with NCAA Division III school Adrian College in Michigan. He won All-MIAA first team accolades and NSCAA Division III All-Central region honors in 2013.[5] He played there for two seasons, but decided to transfer schools after the soccer coaching staff was relieved of their duties.[6]

Calvin College

Despite interest from NCAA Division I and Division II schools, he decided to transfer to Division III Calvin College.[6] In his two seasons at Calvin, he was named to the All-MIAA first team and the NSCAA Division III All-Central Region first team twice as well as the NSCAA Division III All-America third team. He help lead them to the MIAA championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. During his two years as Calvin's starting goalkeeper, he posted a win-loss record of 40-3-4, including a 28-0 record in MIAA competition.[5]

Club career

Durham United

He served as an unused substitute keeper for Durham United FC for a match in League1 Ontario in 2014, but did not play.[7][8]

Ocala Stampede

In 2015, he played for the Ocala Stampede in the Premier Development League.[9][10]

Devonport City

In March 2016, Giantsopoulos joined Devonport City in the NPL Tasmania, the second tier of soccer in Australia.[11] He started all 21 matches for Devonport in the 2016 season, helping to lead the team to a league championship and was named to the NPL Tasmania Team of the Year.[12] In the 90th minute of the Round of 16 match in the FFA Cup against Bentleigh Greens with the score at 0-0, he suffered a shoulder injury and was forced to leave the game, which Devonport ultimately lost 1-0, after extra time.[13] As a result of the injury, he also missed the Semi-Finals and Finals of the NPL Tasmania Playoff Series, where Devonport ultimately lost in the Finals,[14] as well as the NPL Finals Series for the champions of each of the regional leagues.[15] He won the inaugural "Players' Player" Award.[16]

Broadmeadow Magic

In 2017, he joined Broadmeadow Magic in the NPL Northern NSW, a different regional league in the same second tier of Australian soccer.[17]

Launceston City

Giantsopoulos would return to the Tasmania regional division, signing with NPL Tasmania club Lauceston City for the 2018 season. He would be named vice-captain of the club,[18] and would start all 21 matches in 2018.[19] On August 18, in a match against South Hobart, as a penalty shot was about to be taken, Giantsopoulos ran up and kicked the ball away before it could be taken. He was yellow carded, but his antics proved to be effective, as the ensuing penalty shot was missed. The incident became a viral video around the world.[20][21][22] This was part of a streak of three consecutive penalty saves in three matches for Giantsopoulos.[23] He was named to the NPL Tasmania Team of the Year at the end of the season.[19]

Cavalry FC

Giantsopoulos returned to Canada and signed with Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League on January 23, 2019.[24] He served as the backup goalkeeper behind Marco Carducci. He made his debut on May 16 in a Canadian Championship match against Pacific FC.[25] After the season, he re-signed with the club for an additional year.[26] After two years with Cavalry, Giantsopoulos would leave after the 2020 season in an attempt to gain more playing time.[27][28] In his limited playing time for Cavalry, Giantsopoulos earned four clean sheets and had the best save percentage of any CPL goalkeeper.[29]

York United FC

On November 10, 2020, Giantsopoulos signed a two-year contract with his hometown club, York United.[30][31] He made his debut for York United on July 7, 2021 in a 2-1 victory over Valour FC.[32]

On May 20, 2022, immediately after earning a clean sheet against Pacific FC, Giantsopoulos joined Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC on loan for their match on May 22, as the Whitecaps were left without any of their three goalkeepers due to injury and COVID protocols.[33][34] He did not feature in the match, serving as an unused substitute.[35] His loan expired on May 23, allowing him to return to play for York in their Canadian Championship match on May 24, where he made the game-winning save in the penalty shootout to advance to the semi-finals, where coincidentally, York would match-up against Vancouver.[36][37] In December 2022, he resigned with York United on a one-year contract.[38][39]

Media career

In 2021, along with his club team York United FC, Giantsopolous launched a podcast series called ‘The Last Line: A Goalkeeper’s Podcast’.[40][41][42] In March 2022, he became the co-host of a radio talk show focussed on soccer called 'Footy First' on TSN Radio 1050.[43]

Personal life

Born in Canada, Giantsopoulos is of Greek descent.[44]

Career statistics
As of October 11, 2023[45]
Club Season League Playoffs[lower-alpha 1] Domestic Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Durham United FC 2014 League1 Ontario00———00
Ocala Stampede 2015[46] Premier Development League70?000—70
Devonport City 2016[47] NPL Tasmania2101050—270
Broadmeadow Magic 2017[48] NPL Northern NSW1901050—250
Launceston City 2018[49] NPL Tasmania210—30—240
Cavalry FC 2019 Canadian Premier League 500040—90
2020 10———10
Total 60004000100
York United 2021 Canadian Premier League 900000—90
2022 180—30—210
2023 2201020—250
Total 490105000550
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (loan) 2022 Major League Soccer 00—00—00
Career totals 123030220––1480
  1. Includes other competitive competitions such as NPL Playoff Finals and CPL Playoffs.
  2. Includes FFA Cup, Milan Lakoseljac Cup and Canadian Championship

Honours

Club

Devonport City

Calvary FC

Individual
  • NPL Tasmania Team of the Year: 2016, 2018

References
  1. "Niko Giantsopoulos profile". York United FC.
  2. Kelly, Brad (September 4, 2008). "Three area soccer teams in Ontario Cup finals". Durham Region News. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  3. Kelly, Brad (October 15, 2010). "Ajax, Pickering U16 teams win national soccer titles". Durham Region News. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  4. "December 8, 2011 40th Parliament, 1st Session Transcript". Government of Ontario. December 8, 2011.
  5. "Niko Giantsopoulos Signs Professional Soccer Contract in Australia". Calvin College. March 15, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  6. Sandor, Steven (February 7, 2019). "Giant by name, by nature: Giantsopoulos took long road back to CPL". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  7. Glover, Robin (August 1, 2014). "August 1, 2014 League1 Ontario - Durham United FC vs Sigma FC". Archived from the original on October 23, 2020.
  8. "Whitecaps FC eligible for Extreme Hardship, sign York United FC goalkeeper Nikolaos Giantsopoulos to Short-Term Agreement". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. May 21, 2022.
  9. "Ocala Stampede Hosts Orlando City". Ocala Star–Banner. July 5, 2015.
  10. "Ocala Stampede Defeat Floridians". Ocala Star–Banner. July 7, 2015.
  11. Slessor, Camron (March 14, 2016). "Canadian duo out to bolster Strikers". The Advocate. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  12. McManus, Shaun (August 26, 2016). "Devonport Strikers dominate team of the year". The Mercury. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  13. Slessor, Camron (August 31, 2016). "Devonport Strikers keeper in high spirits following painful FFA Cup injury". The Advocate. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  14. Cole, Brad (September 1, 2016). "Weary Strikers Ready". The Advocate. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  15. Cooling, Andrew (September 15, 2016). "Devonport head west for Perth challenge". National Premier Leagues. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  16. Fair, Alex (August 21, 2016). "Strikers players do well at FFT's best and fairest awards night". The Advocate.
  17. Slessor, Camron (November 16, 2016). "Devonport Strikers goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos makes move to Broadmeadow Magic". The Advocate. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  18. Mathieson, Andrew (July 13, 2018). "Launceston City goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos has big goals for his adopted NPL club". The Examiner. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  19. Mathieson, Andrew (September 12, 2018). "Launceston City, Northern Rangers feature in NPL Tasmania team of the year". The Examiner. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  20. "Giant Sized Mind Games". Football Tasmania. Facebook. August 18, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  21. "We've just seen the greatest piece of goalkeeper sh*thousery of all time". Planet Football. January 29, 2020.
  22. Lawless, Josh (January 30, 2020). "Goalkeeper Goes Viral For The Most Incredible Piece Of Football Sh*thousery". SportBIBLE.
  23. Cooling, Andrew (August 18, 2018). "South Overcome Giant Obstacle". Slice of Cheese.
  24. Strasser, Scott (January 27, 2019). "The local connections keep coming as Cavalry FC continues to build its inaugural roster". AFTN. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  25. Strasser, Scott (May 16, 2019). "Cavalry's cup run off to ideal start with two-goal cushion over Pacific FC". AFTN. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  26. Jacques, John (December 5, 2019). "Cavalry FC Re-Signs Three More Players". Northern Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  27. Jacques, John (November 7, 2020). "Giantsopoulos: 'I Wanted A Fresh Start'". Northern Tribune.
  28. Jacques, John (November 7, 2020). "Niko Giantsopoulos Leaves Cavalry FC". Northern Tribune.
  29. "York9 FC signs ex-Cavalry goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos to a multi-year deal". Canadian Premier League. November 10, 2020.
  30. "York9 FC Signs Canadian Goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos". York9 FC. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  31. Jacques, John (November 10, 2020). "York9 FC Signs Niko Giantsopoulos". Northern Tribune.
  32. Rhodes, Benedict (July 8, 2021). "Dominick Zator header earns York United 2-1 victory over Valour". Canadian Premier League.
  33. "Whitecaps turn to CPL's Niko Giantsopoulos to solve keeper crisis". Toronto Star. May 20, 2022.
  34. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (May 21, 2022). "York United GK Niko Giantsopoulos to join Vancouver Whitecaps on short-term loan". Canadian Premier League.
  35. Jacques, John (June 20, 2022). "'Long Overdue': Giantsopoulos Ready To Rise Against MLS Opposition". Northern Tribune.
  36. Dheensaw, Cleve (May 21, 2022). "York United keeper centre of attention in scoreless draw against PFC". Times Colonist.
  37. Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (May 25, 2022). ""An experience I'll never forget": York's Niko Giantsopoulos reflects on whirlwind weekend". Canadian Premier League.
  38. "York United FC announces re-signing of goalkeepers Niko Giansopolous & Eleais Himaras". York United FC. December 13, 2022.
  39. Jacques, John (December 13, 2022). "York United Locks In Giantsopoulos, Himaras". Northern Tribune.
  40. Thompson, Marty (May 7, 2021). "York United's Giantsopoulos dives into 'pressures' of goalkeeping in podcast series". Canadian Premier League.
  41. "Introducing our brand-new podcast: The Last Line". York United FC. April 29, 2021.
  42. "York United's Niko Giantsopoulos launches goalkeeping podcast". Canadian Premier League. April 29, 2021.
  43. "Radio Star: Goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos to co-host TSN 1050's new soccer show". York United FC. March 24, 2022.
  44. Bedakian, Armen (July 29, 2019). "The Breakdown: 7 takeaways from CPL, Week 13". Canadian Premier League.
  45. Niko Giantsopoulos at Soccerway
  46. "2015 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
  47. "Nikolaos Giantsopoulos 2016 Stats". SportsTG.
  48. "Nikolaos Giantsopoulos 2017 Stats". SportsTG.
  49. "Nikolaos Giantsopoulos 2018 Stats". SportsTG.
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