Nicolas Lesage

Last updated
Nicolas Lesage
Nicolas Lesage.jpg
Lesage in 2007
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Lesage Moussavou-Nzamba
Date of birth (1980-01-03) January 3, 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Libreville, Gabon
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1999–2004 UQTR Patriotes
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2004 Toledo Slayers 14 (8)
2005 Montreal Impact 0 (0)
2005 Laval Dynamites 6 (5)
2006 Trois-Rivières Sélect 20 (23)
2007–2008 Trois-Rivières Attak 40 (26)
2008Montreal Impact (loan) 1 (0)
2012 L'Assomption 14 (5)
Total95(77)
International career
2013 Québec 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 12, 2016

Nicolas Lesage (born January 3, 1980) is a Gabonese retired footballer who played as a striker. He played at international level with the Quebec national soccer team.

Contents

Club career

Early career

Lesage played college soccer with the UQTR Patriotes for five years. [1] [2] During his university career, his achievements were being named a member of the CIS all-star team for three years. [3] In his final season with the Patriotes, he finished fourth in the overall CIS scoring charts with 13 goals. [4]

After the completion of his college career, he was invited along with Jean-Louis Bessé to the Toledo Slayers preseason training camp in 2004. [4] He would ultimately play with the team in the USL Premier Development League. [5] [2] In his debut season in the PDL, he appeared in 14 matches and recorded 8 goals. [5]

Montreal Impact

In early 2005, before the commencement of the regular season, he played in several preseason matches for the Montreal Impact of the USL First Division. [6] [7] On April 23, 2005, Montreal signed Lesage along with Kevin Wilson to a contract. [8] [9] The primary reason behind his signing was to fill the void left by striker Frederick Commodore who received a career-ending injury. [10]

Two months later he was loaned to play in the Canadian Professional Soccer League with Laval Dynamites. [11] [12] He recorded his first two goals on July 24, 2005, against Hamilton Thunder. [13] He helped Laval secure a playoff berth by finishing third in the Eastern Conference. [14]

Trois-Rivières

In 2006, he played in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec the province's regional circuit with his hometown club Trois-Rivières Sélect. [15] He finished the season as the league's top goalscorer with 23 goals and assisted in securing the regular-season title. [3] [15]

He returned to the interprovincial CPSL (later renamed Canadian Soccer League) the following season but remained in his hometown as Laval Dynamites were relocated and renamed Trois-Rivières Attak. [16] [17] He made his Attak debut against Toronto Croatia in a 0–0 tie on May 13, 2007. [18] [19] He helped the team record their first victory on May 20, 2007, when he scored a goal against the Canadian Lions. [20] Lesage contributed significantly to Trois-Rivières' successful debut in the Open Canada Cup tournament where he recorded a goal in the finals against Columbus Clan F.C. which marked the first time a team from Quebec captured the title. [21] [22]

Throughout the regular season, he helped Trois-Rivières achieve an 18-game undefeated streak and clinched a postseason berth by finishing second in the National Division. [23] As the Attak entered the playoffs, Lesage scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory which eliminated defending champions Italia Shooters in the quarterfinal round. [24] Their playoff run ended on October 21, 2007, against the Serbian White Eagles with two first-half goals coincided he scored in the 84 minute to bring life to the Attak, but Serbia hung on and advanced to the finals. [25] Individually he also had a successful season as he finished as the league's leading scorer in all competitions. [26] [27]

On February 12, 2008, Lesage extended his contract with the Attak for the 2008 season. [28] For the second consecutive season, he finished as the club's top goalscorer with 8 goals along with Pierre-Rudolph Mayard. [29] He also helped the Attak claim their first divisional title the National Division title. [29] In the opening round of the playoffs, he scored the winning goal against St. Catharines Wolves in a 2–0 victory. [30] In the semi-final match, Lesage contributed a goal in the 75' minute in a 7–0 victory over Portugal FC, and for the first time, the Attak advanced into the CSL Championship to face the Serbs. [31] In the finals, he came off the bench to score in the 70' minute and tie the game 1–1, after both teams equalized in extra time the game went into penalties where the White Eagles won the match 2–1. [32] [33]

In 2009, the club began to change its philosophical approach and begin to transition into a developmental system for its parent club the Montreal Impact. [34] The result of these changes saw less recruitment of players from the Trois-Rivières region and more from Montreal. [34] [35] Lesage was welcomed to continue with the club but declined to sign on. [34]

Return to Montreal

In 2008, the Montreal Impact was experiencing a shortage of players due to injuries and suspensions, and as a result, Lesage was called up to fill in. [36] He would make his debut for Montreal on June 4, 2008, against Miami FC. [37] [38]

In 2012, he played in the newly formed Première Ligue de soccer du Québec with FC L'Assomption. [39]

International career

When the Quebec national soccer team was formed in 2013 head coach Patrick Leduc invited Lesage to the team camp in hopes of participating in the 2013 International Peoples, Cultures, and Tribes Tournament. [40] [41] He was selected for the tournament and helped Quebec make the semifinal but was eliminated by Kurdistan Region. [42] He appeared in two matches throughout the tournament. [42]

Managerial career

Lesage became a senior coach in the Mauricie Regional Soccer Association in 2010. [35]

Honours

Club

Trois-Rivières Attak

Individual

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Félix Brillant</span> Canadian soccer player

Félix Brillant is a Canadian former soccer player.

Sita-Taty Matondo is a Congolese-born Canadian former soccer player who played the majority of his career in Quebec with clubs in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec, USL A-League/First Division, and Canadian Soccer League. He also played abroad in the Superettan, and represented Canada at the international level.

Cristian Adolfo Nuñez López is a Canadian former professional soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laval Dynamites</span> Former Canadian association football team

Laval Dynamites were a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1997. The men's team was a member of the Canadian Professional Soccer League/Canadian Soccer League, the highest professional soccer league in Canada, and played in the National Division. The team played as the Montreal Dynamites in 2001 and 2002. The team essentially moved to Trois-Rivières and became the Trois-Rivières Attak for the 2007 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trois-Rivières Attak</span> Canadian former soccer team

Trois-Rivières Attak was a Canadian soccer team that played three seasons in the Canadian Soccer League. They formally served as a reserve and academy team for the USL First Division side Montreal Impact. The club was an instant success within the league, winning titles in all three seasons when it competed in the CSL. In 2010, when the Montreal Impact founded their own academy the team ceased operating as a farm team, because of the ended cooperation with the Impact; they announced that they would take a one-year absence from the Canadian Soccer League in 2010 and return for the 2011 season. The team did not return for the 2011 season.

Massimo Di Ioia is a Canadian former soccer player. Di Ioia was part of the Canadian National Under 20 team and Olympic Under 23 team. He played the majority of his career in the Canadian province of Quebec with notable stints in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec, USL First Division, Canadian Soccer League, and the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.

David Fronimadis is a Canadian former soccer player who played in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec, Canadian Professional Soccer League, and USL A-League/First Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Olivieri</span> Canadian retired soccer player (born 1981)

Andrew Olivieri is a Canadian professional football manager and former soccer player who is currently the head coach of the Canadian men's under-20 team. He played as a goalkeeper for several clubs in the United States and Canada, namely Vermont Voltage, Montreal Impact, Laval Dynamites and Trois-Rivieres Attack.

The 2007 Canadian Soccer League season was the tenth since its establishment. The first match of the season was played on May 11, 2007, and ended on October 28, 2007. The season concluded with Toronto Croatia claiming their third championship by defeating rivals Serbian White Eagles 4-1 on aggregate making Croatia one of the most successful clubs in the history of the CSL & Canadian soccer. Toronto Croatia also celebrated its 50-year anniversary in Canadian soccer by winning the CSL title after losing just one game in the 5-month long campaign, including an unbeaten streak in their international triumph of the Croatian World Club Championship. During the regular season the Serbian White Eagles secured their second consecutive International Division title, while St. Catharines Wolves won their first National Division title.

The Canadian Soccer League Golden Boot is an annual Canadian soccer award given to the top goalscorer for each season in the Canadian Soccer League. The Golden Boot has been awarded since 1998 when the league debuted as the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The highest ranked CSL Golden Boot goalscorer is Gus Kouzmanis with 33 goals during the league's inaugural season. Kouzmanis has also won the award the most times (2) during the 1998, and 2000 seasons. Players from twelve countries, other than Canada, have won the Golden Boot including Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, United States, Romania, France, Ghana, and Central African Republic The club with the most top goalscorers is the Toronto/Mississauga Olympians with four wins followed by London City, Scarborough SC, and Trois-Rivières Attak with two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elkana Mayard</span> Canadian former soccer player (born 1982)

Elkana Mayard is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a defender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre-Rudolph Mayard</span> Canadian soccer player

Pierre-Rudolph Mayard, commonly known as Papouche, is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a forward for AS Blainville in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.

The 2009 Canadian Soccer League season was the 12th since its establishment where a total of 17 teams from Ontario and Quebec took part in the league. The season began on May 15, 2008, and ended on October 24 where for the second straight season the Serbian White Eagles faced Trois-Rivières Attak at the CSL Championship. The Attak denied Serbia their championship title by defeating them 3-2 in a penalty shootout. The victory marked the organizations first championship title, and the return of the championship to Quebec since the 1978 season when Montreal Castors competed in the National Soccer League. Throughout the regular season both Serbia, and Trois-Rivieres won their respective divisions.

Hicham Aâboubou is a Moroccan professional footballer who last played as a defender for FC Lanaudière in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reda Agourram</span> Canadian soccer player

Reda Agourram is a former soccer player.

Kevin Cossette is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Première Ligue de soccer du Québec club Royal-Sélect de Beauport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Louis Bessé</span> Ivorian footballer

Jean-Louis Bessé is an Ivorian retired footballer who played as a forward. He played at the international level with the Quebec national soccer team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippe Eullaffroy</span> French footballer (born 1964)

Philippe Eullaffroy is a French football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the performance manager for Quebec Soccer.

Rachid Madkour' is a former Moroccan footballer who had stints in the Canadian Soccer League, and the USL First Division.

Joe Di Buono is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a midfielder.

References

  1. "Impact signs forwards Kevin Wilsonand Nicolas Lesage". cfmontreal.com. April 23, 2005.
  2. 1 2 "Commodore pourrait rater la saison" [Commodore could miss the season]. Réseau des sports (in French). April 23, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Attak FC". 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2017-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. 1 2 "Deux Patriotes invités aux États-Unis" [Two Patriots invited to the United States]. RDS.ca (in French). 2004-02-26. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  5. 1 2 "Nicholas Moussavou-Nzamba | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  6. "L'Impact s'impose à Trois-Rivières" [The Impact wins in Trois-Rivières]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-04-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. "Point d'interrogation en attaque" [Question mark in attack]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. Hickey, Pat (April 30, 2005). "Impact opener 'scary': Rivera's equalizer one for the books". Montreal Gazette . p. C1.
  9. "Impacts sign pair". Montreal Gazette . April 24, 2004. p. 11.
  10. "Nicolas Lesage profite de son voyage" [Nicolas Lesage enjoys his trip]. RDS.ca (in French). April 27, 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  11. Hickey, Mike (June 23, 2005). "Low-scoring Impact put undefeated record on line". Sherbrooke Record . p. 15.
  12. "Le match au Vermont annulé" [Vermont game canceled]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  13. "Les Dynamites explosent" [Dynamites explode]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-07-24. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  14. "Les Dynamites en séries" [The Dynamites in series]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-10-01. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  15. 1 2 "L'Attak de Trois-Rivières voit le jour" [The Attak of Trois-Rivières is born]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  16. "Un premier match pour l'Attak" [A first match for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  17. "ATTAK COMPLETES ITS TRAINING". May 2, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2017-05-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. "An honorable draw". 2008-08-28. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2017-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. "Match nul pour l'Attak" [Draw for the Attak]. RDS.ca. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  20. "Victoire historique pour l'Attak" [Historic victory for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  21. Meagher, John (September 6, 2007). "Anderson leads Attak". Newspapers.com. The Montreal Gazette. p. 72. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  22. "Déjà un premier sacre pour l'Attak" [Already a first coronation for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  23. "L'Attak termine par une défaite" [The Attak ends in defeat]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  24. "L'Attak élimine les champions" [The Attak eliminates the champions]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  25. "L'Attak éliminé" [The Attak eliminated]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  26. "Lesage champion marqueur" [Lesage scoring champion]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  27. "Joqueviel: le plus utile" [Joqueviel: the most useful]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  28. "Prolongation de contrat pour Lesage" [Contract extension for Lesage]. RDS.ca (in French). 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  29. 1 2 L' Heureux, Serge (2008-11-05). "Dos Santos et l'Attak: part ou reste?" [Dos Santos and the Attak: go or stay?]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  30. Lavoie, Alexandre (2008-10-13). "Attak: un premier pas vers la finale" [Attak: a first step towards the final]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  31. "2008 CSL season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  32. "Serbian White Eagles CSL Champions". Alaska Highway News . October 27, 2008. p. A5.
  33. "Défaite crève-coeur pour l'Attak" [Heartbreaking defeat for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  34. 1 2 3 Martin, Robert (2009-03-12). "L'Attak prend le virage jeunesse" [The Attak takes the youth turn]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  35. 1 2 "Le départ de l'Attak était devenu inévitable" [The departure of the Attak had become inevitable]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  36. Hickey, Pat (June 4, 2008). "Impact desperate for goals - and a victory; Face Miami FC tonight at Saputo Stadium". Montreal Gazette . p. C1.
  37. "Statistiques de l'Impact de Montréal". ImpactSoccer.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  38. Gauthier, Vincent (2018-06-05). ""Ça reste de très beaux souvenirs"" [It remains very beautiful memories]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  39. "Ligue Semi-Pro du Québec". Nouvelles du soccer dans l'Outaouais (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  40. "L'équipe du Québec complétée" [Quebec team completed]. RDS.ca (in French). 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  41. L' Heureux, Serge (2013-06-13). "Nicolas Lesage invité à un tournoi à Marseille" [Nicolas Lesage invited to a tournament in Marseille]. Le Nouvelliste (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  42. 1 2 L' Heureux, Serge (2013-07-04). "Nicolas Lesage et Durnick Jean de retour de Marseille" [Nicolas Lesage and Durnick Jean back from Marseille]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.