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Many of Vaughan SC’s best recruits don’t want to sign professional soccer contracts. They want to play for Syracuse.

Known as a vehicle to professional and Canadian national team success, the Orange are a top destination for the best talent in Canada. A lot of that talent comes through Vaughan SC, a club based in the greater Toronto area.

Spurred on by a glut of young players who found success in North American and European leagues, the Canadian national team qualified for the World Cup for just the second time ever in 2022 and reached its highest-ever FIFA ranking.  

Vaughan SC is at the forefront of Canada’s youth movement. Vaughan is arguably the best youth club in the country for producing World Cup talent, Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. 

Vaughan has three alums on Canada’s World Cup friendlies squad, including Syracuse product Kamal Miller. Ryan Raposo, who also played for Vaughan and SU, stars for Canada’s U-23 squad. The Orange currently roster two players from Vaughan – starting center back Christian Curti and freshman Trevor Carabin.

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Because of players like Miller, Raposo and other professional standouts, Syracuse has become a choice destination for Canada’s best young players. Massimo Ferrin, who played for Vaughan and Syracuse, said recruits know the Orange have a track record of producing professional talent.

“I’m not sure there’s a school that has a better history in the past 10 years or so than Syracuse does,” Ferrin said.

Jorden Feliciano, Vaughan’s U13-U17 director, said McIntyre is in a “special class” of coaches when it comes to his commitment to scouting Vaughan talent. If Vaughan SC calls McIntyre to tell him about a player his staff should come watch, they can count on a SU coach traveling to one of their practices within a week, Vaughan SC senior team head coach Patrice Gheisar said. McIntyre often goes out for food and drinks with Vaughan SC’s staff when he comes up for recruiting visits.Vaughan will occasionally even move practice on days when Syracuse visits.

McIntyre is known for diligently keeping up with players he’s recruiting from Vaughan. McIntyre once texted Feliciano about a recruit not responding to a text he sent. The recruit told Feliciano he had received the message just 20 minutes earlier.

Feliciano went so far as to call McIntyre an “adopted Canadian.”

Syracuse and Vaughan SC had a connection before McIntyre’s arrival, but he took the relationship to “the next level” once he was hired in 2010, Gheisar said.

When Feliciano started at Vaughan SC nearly 10 years ago, Syracuse was known as a top option, similar to programs like Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and UConn. But now, many of Feliciano’s U-16 players have Syracuse at the top of their lists.

In 2011 and 2012, former SU recruiting coordinator Mike Miller constantly scouted Vaughan’s  Alex Halis, who Gheisar said was the first high-profile recruit to go from Vaughan to Syracuse under McIntyre. Halis was an All-ACC freshman after a year at Syracuse, but decided to transfer to Grand Canyon, a program in just its third year in Division I. 

Gheisar said Halis’ decision to transfer could’ve damaged his fledgling relationship with McIntyre. But because Vaughan tried to convince Halis to stay with the Orange, the situation ended up building even more trust between the two programs.

After Halis, Syracuse set its sights on Miller. Though Miller is now Syracuse and Vaughan’s highest-profile alum, he wasn’t on an optimal nutrition plan or at the necessary level of fitness in high school. McIntyre was interested, but not sold.

“I spoke to Kamal and said where do you want to go the most?” Gheisar said. “He said, ‘My dream has always been to go to ‘Cuse.’ So I had to come to bat for him and say, ‘Mac, he’s your guy. Trust me.”

After Gheisar’s advocacy, McIntyre agreed to pay extra attention to Miller. By Miller’s senior year, McIntyre gave him an offer. After four years of development at Syracuse, Orlando City SC selected Miller in the MLS SuperDraft. This year, he started the MLS All-Star game for CF Montréal and is a regular starter on Canada’s national team.

Similar to Miller, McIntyre wasn’t entirely sold on Raposo, who has dealt with questions about his size (5-foot-7, 139 Ibs) at every level. In the winter of Raposo’s high school senior year, he broke his leg during a showcase between Vaughan and its biggest rival, abruptly stopping his recruitment.

Once Raposo’s leg healed several months later, McIntyre made a habit of watching him play every weekend. At first, Raposo could barely run. But Gheisar was diligent in making sure McIntyre paid attention to Raposo. McIntyre offered Raposo a scholarship in August.

Two seasons, 19 goals and 14 assists later, the Vancouver Whitecaps selected Raposo fourth overall in the MLS SuperDraft – the second-highest selection of a Syracuse player ever. In July, he was named 2022 Canadian Championship’s Best Young Canadian Player Award after leading the Whitecaps to a national title.

Through Raposo and Miller’s success as well as McIntyre’s constant contact with the club, Syracuse has landed several big-name transfers that played at Vaughan. When defender Nyal Higgins wanted more exposure after three years at Oakland, he spoke with Gheisar and Miller, who encouraged him to transfer to Syracuse. 

Despite offers from a variety of schools, the Toronto-area native said the decision to pick Syracuse was easy after his conversation with Miller. Higgins started every game he played in his one year at SU before he was selected 19th overall in the 2020 MLS Superdraft. Higgins said that McIntyre’s coaching style, especially for defenders, mirrors the style he’s seen in the professional ranks. 

Like Higgins, Curti is a Vaughan alum who transferred to Syracuse after originally committing to play elsewhere. A starter in every game this season, Curti won ACC Defensive Player of the Week in the first week of the season and has led the Orange defense to the second-fewest goals allowed in the ACC.

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As Miller and Raposo rack up professional and national team accolades and Curti enjoys a breakout season, the Syracuse-Vaughan connection continues to be mutually beneficial for both sides.

“The pipeline has never been stronger,” Feliciano said.

Published on September 26, 2022 at 11:51 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu