Thomas Vancaeyezeele
Vancaeyezeele playing for Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-07-27) 27 July 1994 (age 29)
Place of birth Arras, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defender, Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Hartford Athletic
Youth career
2005–2011 Caen
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Charleston Golden Eagles 41 (5)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Caen II 1 (0)
2013–2014 Hérouvillais 21 (1)
2015 CD Vitoria
2016 SW Florida Adrenaline 10 (1)
2017 Mississippi Brilla 14 (2)
2018–2020 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 78 (5)
2021 San Diego Loyal 7 (0)
2021–2022 Birmingham Legion 29 (1)
2022 Tampa Bay Rowdies 8 (0)
2023 Bassin d'Arcachon
2024– Hartford Athletic 0 (0)
International career‡
2019– French Guiana 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 November 2023

Thomas Vancaeyezeele (born 27 July 1994) is a footballer who plays as a defender for Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship. Born in metropolitan France, he represents the French Guiana national team.

Career

Youth and college

Vancaeyezeele played for the youth sides of Stade Malherbe Caen of Ligue 1. For the 2011–12 season he was promoted to the reserve side, making one appearance in the Championnat National 2. For the 2013–14 season, he transferred to Hérouvillais of the Championnat National 3. During the season he made 21 appearances, scoring a single goal.[1] In February 2015, he signed on for a stint with CD Vitoria of Spain's Fifth Division. He made his debut for the club on 23 February against CD El Pilar Marianistas.[2]

In 2015, Vancaeyezeele traveled to the United States to play college soccer for the Charleston Golden Eagles of the University of Charleston. Over his two season with the club, he made 41 appearances, scoring five goals.[3] The team won the school's first NCAA Division II Championship during the 2017 season, defeating the Lynn Fighting Knights 3–1 in the final. Following the match, Vancaeyezeele was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year, in addition to several other accolades.[4]

Semi-professional

In 2016, Vancaeyezeele played club football for the SW Florida Adrenaline of the semi-professional Premier Development League.[5] Over the course of the season, he made ten regular season appearances, scoring one goal.[6] For the 2017 season, Vancaeyezeele moved to the Mississippi Brilla, also of the PDL. During the season, he made 14 regular season appearances, scoring two goals, and a further three appearances in the playoffs.[7]

Professional

After graduation from the University of Charleston, Vancaeyezeele was invited to participate in the 2018 Major League Soccer Combine.[8] However, he was not selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft,[9] despite being projected as a potential early pick.[10]

In March 2018, Vancaeyezeele went on trial with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer league system. He made two preseason appearances for the team, including one against league rivals Penn FC in which he set up Romeo Parkes's game-winning goal. On 14 March 2018, he was signed to a one-year contract with a club option for an additional year.[11] He made his professional debut in the opening match of the 2018 season, a 0–0 draw at Nashville SC in which he started and played the full 90 minutes.[12] Over the first two matches of the season, Vancaeyezeele maintained the team's highest passing percentage in the offensive half and the team lead in interceptions.[13]

Vancaeyezeele scored his first professional goal on 20 April 2018, Pittsburgh's second goal of a 2–2 draw away at FC Cincinnati.[14] He was then named to the USL Team of the Week for the first time for his performance in the match.[15] Vancaeyezeele scored his first U.S. Open Cup goal in a 2–1 victory over Erie Commodores FC on 16 May 2018.[16]

During his first season with the club, he made a team-high 32 starts, scoring two league goals. On 7 December 2018 it was announced that Vancaeyezeele had signed a one-year extension with the team with a club option for an additional year.[17]

On 12 December 2020, Vancaeyezeele moved to USL Championship side San Diego Loyal ahead of the 2021 season.[18] On July 8, 2021 he switched to fellow USL Championship club Birmingham Legion.[19]

On May 26, 2022, the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced that they had acquired Vancaeyezeele from Birmingham Legion for an international slot and an undisclosed fee.[20] He was released by Tampa following their 2022 season.[21]

Vancaeyezeele signed with Hartford Athletic in November 2023.[22]

International career

Vancaeyezeele was called up to by French Guiana for the first time in September 2019 for 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B matches against Belize and St. Kitts and Nevis. He qualifies to represent the nation through family ties.[23][24] After French Guiana was awarded a 3–0 victory over Belize when the visitors did not arrive in time for the match,[25] Vancaeyezeele made his debut, starting and playing the full match, in the eventual 2–2 draw with St. Kitts and Nevis.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 October 2019[27]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Caen II 2011–12 CFA 1 0 – – – 1 0
Hérouvillais 2013–14 CFA 2 21 1 0 0 – – 21+ 1+
CD Vitoria 2014–15 División de Honor de Guipúzcoa 1+ 0+ – – – 1+ 0+
SW Florida Adrenaline 2016[28] PDL 10 1 – – – 10 1
Mississippi Brilla 2017[29] PDL 14 2 – – 3[b] 0 17 2
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 2018 USL Championship 33 2 1 1 – 1[c] 0 35 3
2019 USL Championship 29 2 3 0 – 0 0 32 2
Total 62 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 67 5
Career total 109+ 8+ 4+ 1+ 0 0 4 0 117+ 9+
  1. ^ All appearances in the U.S. Open Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in the PDL playoffs
  3. ^ Appearance in the USL Cup Playoffs

International

As of 26 December 2023[30]
French Guiana
Year Apps Goals
2019 5 0
2021 1 0
2023 2 0
Total 8 0

References

  1. ^ McKriger, Rachel. "Riverhounds SC sign midfielder Thomas Vancaeyezeele". Pittsburgh Sports Castle. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Thomas Vancaeyezeele, Nueva Incorporacion Para El Preference" (in Spanish). CD Vitoria. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  3. ^ "UC profile". University of Charleston Athletics. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  4. ^ "DII soccer: Charleston's (WV) Thomas Vancaeyezeele named National Player of the Year". NCAA. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Adrenaline push unbeaten streak to 3". chrisjmayer.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  6. ^ "2016 PDL Stats". Premier Development League. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. ^ "PDL profile". Premier Development League. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Vancaeyezeele Participating in Adidas MLS Player Combine". University of Charleston. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 SUPERDRAFT". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  10. ^ Mendola, Nicholas. "2018 MLS Mock Draft: LAFC, Galaxy hold the keys". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  11. ^ "Hounds Add Preseason Trialist Vancaeyezeele". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Hounds Scrap Hard-Fought Point in Nashville, 0-0". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  13. ^ Picardi, Anthony. "WHAT2WATCH4: TORONTO - 4/7". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Hounds Capture Point in 2-2 Draw at FC Cincinnati". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Vancaeyezeele Named to USL Team of the Week". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Hounds Defeat Erie in Open Cup Second round". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Riverhounds SC Re-signs Thomas Vancaeyezeele". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  18. ^ "SD Loyal Adds Two-Time All-League Selection Vancaeyezeele". December 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "Legion FC Acquires Thomas Vancaeyezeele From SD Loyal". July 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "Rowdies Add Veteran Defender Vancaeyezeele". rowdiessoccer.com. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  21. ^ 🖉USLChampionship com Staff (December 2, 2022). "Tampa Bay Rowdies announce initial 2023 roster decisions". USL Championship.
  22. ^ "Hartford Athletic Sign Two-Time All-League Defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele". HartfordAthletic.com. Hartford Athletic. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Thomas Vancaeyezeele Called Up to French Guiana Ahead of CONCACAF Nations League". Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  24. ^ Asher Goodman, Mark (3 September 2019). "Vancaeyezeele gets callup to French Guiana National Team". Pittsburgh Soccer Report. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  25. ^ "CONCACAF Statement". CONCACAF. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  26. ^ "French Guiana vs. St. Kitts and Nevis". CONCACAF. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  27. ^ Thomas Vancaeyezeele at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Thomas Vancaeyezeele – SW Florida Adrenaline profile". USLLeagueTwo.com. Premier Development League. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  29. ^ "Thomas Vancaeyezeele – Mississippi Brilla profile". USLLeagueTwo.com. Premier Development League. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  30. ^ "Thomas Vancaeyezeele". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 16 September 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Vancaeyezeele.
Hartford Athletic – current squad
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