Joe Zupo (born September 20, 1992) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a defender for Burnaby FC. He is currently an assistant coach for the University of British Columbia men's soccer program.[1]

Joseph Zupo
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-09-20) 20 September 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Position(s) Defender
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Queen's Golden Gaels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Kingston FC
2015 Durham United FC
2016 Devonport City
2017 Durham United FC
2018 Cairns
2018–2019 Hawke's Bay United 7 (1)
2019 Darby FC 14 (2)
2020–2022 FC Tigers Vancouver
2022–2023 Nautsa’mawt FC 14 (2)
2024 Burnaby FC 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

College career

edit

Zupo would compete in the Ontario Cup youth tournament in 2009 with Wexford Soccer Club.[2] He also played at the high school level with Senator O'Connor College School where he helped their soccer team secure a bronze medal at the high school triple-A championship in 2009.[3]

In 2010, he transitioned to the college level by enrolling in the Queen's University men's soccer program.[3] The Golden Gaels would qualify for the playoffs where Zupo would contribute two goals against Laurentian Voyageurs which advanced the club to the next round.[4] Queen's playoff journey would conclude in the following round after a defeat by Toronto Varsity Blues where Zupo contributed the team's lone goal.[5] After the conclusion of the season, he was named to the Ontario University Athletics East second team.[6] He was also named the rookie of the year.[7]

He was named the team captain in his second season with the university squad.[8] Zupo was named to the division's first team in 2012.[9] The team would be eliminated in the semifinal round by McMaster Marauders.[10]

Club career

edit

Early career

edit

In the summer of 2013, he played in the Canadian Soccer League with Kingston FC.[11][12][13] Zupo would help the club secure the first-division title and a playoff berth.[14] Kingston would reach the championship final where they were ultimately defeated by SC Waterloo Region.[15] After a successful season in the Canadian circuit, he ventured abroad to England for a tryout session with Exeter City.[16]

Following his English trail, he returned to Kingston for the 2014 season.[17] He was named the co-captain along with teammate Cătălin Lichioiu.[18] In his second season with the club, he helped Kingston secure another playoff berth by finishing third in the division.[19] Kingston advanced to the semifinal round by defeating the Serbian White Eagles in the quarterfinals.[20] In the next round, Zupo would contribute a goal against Toronto Croatia but were still eliminated from the competition after a loss.[21]

In 2015, he played with Durham United in a local Ontario circuit, where he served as a co-captain and was named to the league's all-star team.[22]

Oceania

edit

Zupo played abroad in the Australian National Premier Leagues Tasmania with Devonport City.[23][24] In his debut season with the organization, he assisted the club in securing the divisional title.[23] Devonport would be eliminated in the first round of the national premier league final series by Perth.[25] Following his successful debut in the Australian second division, he was named to the state squad.[26]

He briefly returned to his former club Durham for the 2017 season.[27] Zupo returned to Australia for the 2018 season he played in the Queensland regional circuit with Cairns.[28][29][30] Throughout his stint with Cairns, he participated in the 2018 FFA Cup where he faced A-League side Sydney FC.[31][32]

After a season in Cairns, he secured a deal with Hawke's Bay United in the New Zealand top-tier league in late 2018.[33] He would record his first goal for the club on November 24, 2018, against Waitakere United.[34] His tenure with Hawke's Bay was short-lived as he left the club midway through the season.[35][36] In total, he played in 7 matches and scored 1 goal.[32]

Canada

edit

He returned to the Ontario circuit to play with Darby FC.[37] In 2020, he went to the Vancouver area, to play with local side FC Tigers Vancouver.[38] For the 2022 season, he played in the regional British Columbia circuit with Varsity FC.[39] He re-signed with the club for the 2023 season.[40] After two seasons with Varsity, he joined league rivals Burnaby FC in 2024.[41]

Honors

edit

Kingston FC

References

edit
  1. ^ "Joe Zupo - Men's Soccer Coach". University of British Columbia Athletics. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Wexford Soccer Club has two teams in Ontario Cup". Scarborough Mirror. 8 September 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Rugby season kicks off". Kingston Whig Standard. 22 April 2009. p. 17.
  4. ^ "KASSAA outfits win events". Kingston Whig-Standard. 25 October 2010. p. 15.
  5. ^ "Women's rowing team wins OUA championship". Kingston Whig-Standard. 1 November 2010. p. 15.
  6. ^ "Jets veteran develops raffle for a good cause". Kingston Whig Standard. 5 November 2010. p. 15.
  7. ^ "Joseph Zupo - Soccer (M)". Queen's University Athletics. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  8. ^ Sutherland, Sean (13 September 2013). "Playing the long ball". The Queen's Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Hoogkamp, Paulin named all-stars". North Bay Nugget. 1 November 2012. pp. B1.
  10. ^ "Soccer Gaels Fourth". Kingston Whig Standard. 6 November 2012. p. 18.
  11. ^ Smith, Adrian (1 March 2013). "Local reinforcements". The Queen's Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  12. ^ Graham, Doug (25 April 2013). "Kingston FC to put emphasis on 'Kingston' ; SOCCER: Pro team's players will be housed at Queen's this season; club promises to get more involved with local minor associations". Kingston Whig Standard. pp. C1.
  13. ^ Zheng, Jerry (29 July 2013). "Revival on the pitch". The Queen's Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Kingston FC loses final match". Kingston Whig Standard. 8 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Waterloo ends Kingston FC's run". Kingston Whig Standard. 4 November 2013.
  16. ^ Faris, Nick (31 January 2014). "English expedition". The Queen's Journal. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  17. ^ MacAlpine, Iain (14 March 2014). "Kingston FC eager to kick off a new season". Kingston Whig Standard. pp. C1.
  18. ^ "In Brief - FC names captains". Kingston Whig Standard. 30 May 2014. pp. C1.
  19. ^ "Kingston FC moved into third place in the First Division of the Canadian Soccer League". The Kingston Heritage. 2 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Kingston FC clubs win". Kingston Whig-Standard. 14 October 2014.
  21. ^ "North York Astros fall one game short of CSL final". North York Mirror. 20 October 2014.
  22. ^ "This Week In League1 Ontario (Feb 8)". Ontario Soccer. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Pro soccer takes Zupo across the globe". Queen's University Athletics. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  24. ^ Bingham, Libby (29 August 2016). "Strike It Hot". The Advocate. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Perth SC progress after win against Devonport | National Premier Leagues". www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  26. ^ Fair, Alex (12 September 2016). "Eight Strikers players named in state squad". The Advocate. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Canadian internationals are standouts in Week 8". The Sport Information Resource Centre. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Cairns FC signing Joe Zupo set to leave strikers in his wake". Cairns Post. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Cairns FC need pride in defence ahead of Magpies". Cairns Post. 25 April 2018.
  30. ^ Grams, Jacob (7 February 2018). "Zupo Star". Cairns Post.
  31. ^ Greco, John (5 October 2018). "'It's the biggest game of our lives': Cairns defender eyes Sky Blue boilover | My Football". www.myfootball.com.au. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Canada - J. Zupo - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ca.soccerway.com. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Italian heritage fuels Canadian import Joe Zupo". NZ Herald. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Bay United break victory drought at Park Island, Napier". NZ Herald. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Bay United claim vital three points against Southern". NZ Herald. 8 December 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  36. ^ "Hawke's Bay United 'never found right defensive formula'". NZ Herald. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Canadians still available for a potential 2020 CPL season". Canadian Premier League. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  38. ^ "BB5 United CCB win back-to-back BC Provincial A Cup titles after hard fought victory over FC Tigers". aftn.ca. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  39. ^ "Varsity FC proud to be part of League1 BC and what they hope will be a "massive revolution" for soccer in the province". aftn.ca. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Nautsa'mawt FC - 2023 REGULAR SEASON - Roster - # - Joe Zupo -". www.league1bc.ca. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  41. ^ "BurnabyFC League1 2024 Mens Roster". Burnaby Football Club. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
edit