| Nyal Higgins | |
| Full Name: | Nyal Christian-Anthony Higgins |
| Birth Date: | 19 January 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Ajax, Ontario, Canada |
| Height: | 1.88 m |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | York United FC |
| Youthclubs1: | Ajax SC |
| Youthclubs2: | Vaughan SC |
| Collegeyears1: | 2016–2018 |
| Collegecaps1: | 49 |
| Collegegoals1: | 4 |
| Collegeyears2: | 2019 |
| Collegecaps2: | 19 |
| Collegegoals2: | 1 |
| Years1: | 2016 |
| Clubs1: | Vaughan Azzurri |
| Caps1: | 5 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2017 |
| Clubs2: | Michigan Bucks |
| Caps2: | 8 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2018 |
| Clubs3: | Vaughan Azzurri |
| Caps3: | 3 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs4: | Toronto FC II |
| Caps4: | 9 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2020 |
| Clubs5: | → Nyköpings BIS (loan) |
| Caps5: | 17 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Years6: | 2021 |
| Clubs6: | → Atlético Ottawa (loan) |
| Caps6: | 8 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2022 |
| Clubs7: | FC Edmonton |
| Caps7: | 24 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2023 |
| Clubs8: | Vaughan Azzurri |
| Caps8: | 18 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2024– |
| Clubs9: | York United FC |
| Caps9: | 1 |
| Goals9: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | April 13, 2023 |
Nyal Christian-Anthony Higgins (born January 19, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for York United FC in the Canadian Premier League.
In 2016, he attended Oakland University, playing for the Golden Grizzlies soccer team. As a freshman, he was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team and the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Third Team. In his sophomore and junior seasons, he was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team.[1] In 2019, he transferred to Syracuse University to play for the Syracuse Orange soccer team.[2]
During the 2016 and 2018 seasons, he played with Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario.[3] In 2017, he played with the Michigan Bucks in the Premier Development League.[4] In 2018, he trained with three Major League Soccer clubs - Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew SC, and Nashville SC.[5] He later trained with Toronto FC in 2019.[6]
He was selected 19th overall by Toronto FC in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.[7] He attended pre-season with the club, but ultimately did not make the final roster for 2020.[8] In July, he signed a USL contract with the second-team Toronto FC II.[9] He was soon after sent on loan to Nyköpings BIS in the Swedish third tier, following TFC II's withdrawal from the 2020 USL League One season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] He scored his first goal on November 21, in a 7-1 defeat to IF Brommapojkarna.[11] He made his debut for Toronto FC II on May 22, 2021 against North Texas SC.[12]
In August 2021, Higgins joined Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa on loan.[13] [14] He made his debut in a substitute appearance, on August 25, against Forge FC.[15]
In February 2022, he signed a contract with FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League.[16]
In 2023, he returned to Vaughan Azzurri. He was named a league Second Team All-Star at the end of the season.[17]
In April 2024, he signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2025 with York United FC in the Canadian Premier League.[18] [19]
He was a member of the U-18 and U-20 Canada national team talent pools.[20]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Vaughan Azzurri[21] | 2016 | League1 Ontario | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ? | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Michigan Bucks[22] | 2017 | PDL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| Vaughan Azzurri[23] | 2018 | League1 Ontario | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Toronto FC II | 2021 | USL League One | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Nyköpings BIS (loan) | 2020 | Ettan Norra | 17 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| Atlético Ottawa (loan) | 2021 | Canadian Premier League | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| FC Edmonton | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 24 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Vaughan Azzurri | 2023[24] | League1 Ontario | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| York United FC | 2024 | Canadian Premier League | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 93 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1 | |||