Wikipedia

Nick Soolsma

Nick Soolsma (born 7 January 1988) is a Dutch footballer.

Nick Soolsma
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-01-07) 7 January 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Andijk, Netherlands
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Forward, midfielder
Youth career
2003–2004 PSV
2004–2007 FC Volendam
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 HFC Haarlem 7 (0)
2008–2009 FC Chabab 16 (11)
2009–2010 VV Young Boys 21 (17)
2011–2012 Toronto FC 31 (3)
2012–2013 Excelsior 22 (0)
2013 South Melbourne 11 (2)
2014–2015 Langley Hurricanes ? (17)
2016–2018 BC Tigers ? (42)
2018 TSS FC Rovers 9 (2)
2018–2020 BC Tigers ? (48)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 June 2018

Club career

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Netherlands

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Soolsma began his career in the youth ranks of Dutch side FC Volendam. During the 2007 season he played for FC Volendam's Under-19 side. He left Volendam at the end of the season and joined HFC Haarlem in the Eerste Divisie and appeared in seven league matches for his new side. The following seasons he played for Dutch lower division sides FC Chabab and VV Young Boys.

While with Chabab, Soolsma was regarded as one of the club's finest players and began to draw interest from several higher-level clubs.[1] He went on a trial stint with Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk during the 2009 season.[2] After one season with FC Chabab, Soolsma joined VV Young Boys where he went on to quickly establish himself with the club scoring 17 league goals and 2 others in the domestic cup as he helped the club gain promotion to the Hoofdklasse. He began the 2010/11 season with Young Boys in top form scoring 6 goals in the club's first 11 matches.[3] His play with Young Boys led to offers from several Qatari clubs, which Soolsma elected to reject.[4]

Toronto FC

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In January 2011 Soolsma went on trial with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer in hopes of securing a contract. He signed with the Canadian club on 9 March 2011 along with two other Dutch trialists Elbekay Bouchiba and Javier Martina.[5] Soolsma made his debut for the team on 19 March 2011 versus Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the first all-Canadian match-up in the league.[6] On 29 June 2011 Soolsma scored his first goal for Toronto from the penalty spot in a 1–0 home victory over Canadian rivals Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[7] On 15 March 2012, Soolsma gave an assist for the first goal and later scored the final winning goal in CONCACAF Champions League quarter final against LA Galaxy.[8]

On 18 June 2012, Nick Soolsma, along with two other Toronto FC players, were arrested in Houston and charged with public intoxication.[9] Soolsma's contract was terminated on 11 July 2012.[10]

Return to the Netherlands

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Afterwards, Soolsma returned to the Netherlands and was offered contracts with either SBV Excelsior or SC Cambuur.[11] He finally chose to sign a contract with Excelsior for one year.[12][13]

South Melbourne

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In June 2013, Soolsma signed with South Melbourne FC of the second tier Victorian Premier League for the rest of the season.[14][15] Soolsma left South Melbourne at the end of the 2013 season to return to Canada.[16]

British Columbia

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Later in 2013, he returned to Canada, moving to British Columbia, where he had family living. He had some contract discussion with the Vancouver Whitecaps, but no contract materialized. He then stepped back from the professional game and joined CCBRT United in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League (VMSL) during the 2013/14 season.[17]

In 2014, he joined the Langley Hurricanes of the VMSL, finishing as the league leading scorer to win the Golden Boot with 17 goals in the 2014–15 season,[18] and the Player of the Year award in 2014-15 and 2016–17.[17]

Soolsma became the assistant technical director with Langley United Soccer Association in September 2016 and became a player/assistant coach role with BCT Rovers Tigers United (later BC Tigers)[17] from 2017[19] through 2020, he played with Surrey, British Columbia-based amateur club BC Tigers in the VMSL.[17]

In early 2018, Soolsma joined TSS FC Rovers of the Premier Development League, as a player-coach,[20] after discussions with TSS head coach Colin Elmes, to help provide leadership for the young squad.[17]

After the PDL season, he returned to the BC Tigers, helping them to win the 2018 Challenge Trophy to become Canadian amateur champions.[21] Soolsma won the Golden Boot as the leading scorer in the Challenge Trophy tournament with nine goals in five matches, including a four-goal performance in the championship final.[22] He also was named MVP of the tournament.[23] He became the first player to win both the Challenge Trophy as Canadian amateur champions and the Canadian Championship as Canadian professional champions.[24]

During the 2018–19 season, he set the record for goals in a season in the VMSL with 32 goals scored (the record was later broken by Farivar Torabi of FC Tigers Vancouver the following season),[25] including scoring fourteen goals in a single match in a 17–1 victory.[26]

He currently serves as assistant technical director with Albion FC.[27]

Honours

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Toronto FC

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BC Tigers

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References

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  1. ^ "Hollanders brengen Chabab wat extra's" [The Dutch bring something extra to Chabab] (in Dutch). 13 October 2008. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
  2. ^ "RKC test vijf amateurs in duel met Willem II" [RKC tests five amateurs in a duel with Willem II]. Voetbalzone.nl. 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009.
  3. ^ "Hoofdklasse A zaterdagamateurs seizoen 2010/11" [Dutch big league A Saturday amateurs season 2010/11]. Wij Zijn Voetbal – Voetbal forum.
  4. ^ "Andijker spits slaat aanbieding Qatar af" [Young Boys striker declines Qatar's offer]. NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 7 January 2011.
  5. ^ "TFC Inks Dutch Trio". Toronto FC. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  6. ^ "Toronto Falls Short in Vancouver". Toronto FC. 19 March 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Soolsma lifts Toronto FC over Whitecaps". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Toronto FC advances to Champions League semifinals". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 March 2012.
  9. ^ Scianitti, Matthew. "Three Toronto FC players charged with public intoxication in Houston". National Post.
  10. ^ "Reds & Soolsma Part Ways". Toronto FC. 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Soolsma kiest: Cambuur of Excelsior" [Soolsma chooses: Cambuur or Excelsior] (in Dutch). NH Nieuws. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Veelzijdige Soolsma kiest uiteindelijk voor Excelsior" [Versatile Soolsma ultimately chooses Excelsior] (in Dutch). 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Soolsma naar Excelsior" [Soolsma to Excelsior]. NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 17 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Exciting Dutchman Signs with South Melbourne FC". South Melbourne FC. 28 June 2013.
  15. ^ Ormond, Aidan (9 September 2013). "Soolsma on A-League Radar". FTBL.
  16. ^ Kyrou, John (13 March 2014). "Season Preview: South announce squad for 2014". South Melbourne FC. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d e McColl, Michael (13 April 2018). "TSS Rovers new addition Nick Soolsma looking to "help the team with my experience"". Away from the Numbers.
  18. ^ "VMSL Golden Boot Award". Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
  19. ^ Padda, Harjan (27 November 2018). "Surrey's Own National Soccer Champions". Darpan Magazine.
  20. ^ "Former TFC player Nick Soolsma joins TSS Rovers as player/coach – AFTN". aftn.ca. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  21. ^ McColl, Michael (9 October 2018). "BC Tigers maul Ontario champs to bring Challenge Trophy back to province for first time in 14 years". Away from the Numbers.
  22. ^ Sandor, Steven (8 October 2018). "Soolsma rocks you like a Tiger Hurricane". The 11.
  23. ^ Mall, Rattan (9 October 2018). "Surrey BC Tigers Hurricanes win 2018 Canada Soccer Toyota National Championships". The Indo-Canadian Voice.
  24. ^ Zillich, Tom (9 October 2018). "Surrey's dominant BC Tigers team roars to score national soccer championship". Surrey Now-Leader.
  25. ^ @fctigerssoccer (9 February 2020). "L.E.G.E.N.D." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ McColl, Michael (23 November 2018). "VMSL Week 11 Round-up: Nick Soolsma hits FOURTEEN as Campo capitulate and top of the table gets even tighter". Away from the Numbers.
  27. ^ "Coaches Bios". Albion FC.
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