Cyle Larin

Cyle Christopher Larin, soccer player (born 17 April 1995 in Brampton, ON). Cyle Larin is the all-time leading goal scorer for the Canadian men’s soccer team. He was the first Canadian player to be selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft. In 2016, he was named MLS Rookie of the Year after breaking the record for most goals scored by a rookie. After scoring 43 goals in 87 games in three seasons with Orlando City SC, he was transferred to Beşiktaş JK of the Süper Lig in 2018. Larin helped Beşiktaş JK win the Süper Lig, Turkish Cup and the Turkish Super Cup in 2020–21. He also played for Canada at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Early Life and Family

Cyle Larin was born and raised in Brampton, Ontario. His mother, Patricia Larin, was born in Montreal and his father was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. (See Caribbean Canadians.) He has a brother named Elijah and a sister named Casandra.

At age seven, Larin started playing soccer at Brampton Youth Soccer Club. He attended and played soccer for St. Edmund Campion High School in Brampton. He was one of three standout players from that school to later play for Team Canada (the other two are Jonathan Osorio and Tajon Buchanan). Larin helped his high school team win three OFSAA Championships. During his final three seasons, he was named team captain and was the team’s top goal scorer.

College Career

Cyle Larin attended the University of Connecticut for two years, beginning in 2013. In his first year, he started in 22 of 23 games and scored 14 goals. He was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the NSCAA All-Northeast Second Team and the Soccer America All-Freshman First Team. Larin’s 14-goal season (including five game-winners) was the sixth-highest total for any player in the NCAA. He was named Conference Rookie of the Week three times as well as the TopDrawerSoccer.com Freshman of the year. He also received Conference All-Rookie Team honours.

During the college offseason in 2014, Larin joined League1 Ontario team Sigma FC in Mississauga, Ontario. He scored four goals for Sigma FC and helped them reach the League 1 Ontario Cup final.

In his second year with the University of Connecticut Huskies, Larin played 16 games and led the team with nine goals and 21 points. He was named American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year after finishing the season first in the league in game-winning goals (3), goals per game (0.56) and points per game (1.31). He earned All-Conference First Team honours and was named to the 2014 MAC Hermann Watch List in August 2014.

Embed from Getty Images

International Career

Larin was 18 years old when he made his debut in the Canadian national program in 2014. He represented Canada at the 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship in Montego Bay, Jamaica. At age 19, he debuted for the senior men’s Canadian national team. He scored his first international “A” goal for Canada on 30 March 2015 in a friendly against Puerto Rico, which Canada won 3–0.

Larin was selected to play in all three matches for Canada in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also represented Canada for the CONCACAF 2015–16/FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers, where he scored a goal in each leg of Canada’s 6–0 win over Dominica in the second round of qualification. In the fourth round of qualification, Larin scored the only goal to give Canada the win against Honduras in a game held in Vancouver.

In Canada’s first 2022 World Cup qualifying match, Larin scored his first hat trick for Canada on 25 March 2021 in a 5–1 win over Bermuda. He represented Canada at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup and finished 2021 scoring 10 goals in just eight games.

While helping Canada finish first in 2021–22 CONCACAF/FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and qualifying for the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Larin made his 50th international “A” appearance for Canada. He also became Canada’s all-time top goal scorer with 25 goals, passing Dwayne De Rosario’s record of 22. In the 2022 World Cup qualifying match on 16 November 2021, Larin passed De Rosario’s record when he scored twice to help Canada beat Mexico for the first time in 21 years. Larin finished the World Cup qualifying campaign as the top goal-scorer in CONCACAF with 13 goals.

Orlando City SC

After getting several offers to play in Europe, in January 2015, Larin signed a Generation Adidas contract to be selected in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. He became the first Canadian player ever selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft when he was chosen by Orlando City SC.

In the 2015 Season with Orlando City SC, Larin scored his first professional league goal on 12 April 2015 in a 2–0 win against the Portland Timbers. He scored his first professional hat trick against New York City FC, making him the eighth rookie to achieve three goals in an MLS match and the third Canadian to do so, matching Dwayne De Rosario and Tesho Akindele. Larin earned MLS Player of the week for the hat trick. He scored his second hat trick of the season on 25 September 2015 in a 5–2 victory against the New York Red Bulls, breaking the rookie goal-scoring record. For finishing his season with 17 goals in 27 games, Larin was named the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year.

In the 2016 season, Larin played 32 games, scoring 14 goals with three assists. He was selected for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game against Arsenal FC of the Premier League. In the 2017 season, Larin played 28 games and scored 12 goals with three assists. During the offseason, he expressed interest in playing in Europe.

Beşiktaş JK

In January 2018, Cyle Larin was transferred to Beşiktaş JK of the Süper Lig for an undisclosed transfer fee. In Turkey with Beşiktaş JK, Larin joined Canadian men’s teammate Atiba Hutchinson, who had been with Beşiktaş since 2013.

In his debut match with Beşiktaş, Larin scored in a 5–1 Süper Lig win over Göztepe after entering as a late-game substitute. In his last match of the 2018 season, Larin scored a hat trick in a 5–1 win over Sivasspor.

After his 2018–19 season with Beşiktaş JK, Larin was loaned to Zulte Waregem of the Belgian First Division A in July 2019. During his season with Zulte Waregem, he scored seven goals in 29 appearances. Larin returned to Beşiktaş JK on 29 November 2020. He ended the season with the second-most goals on the team (19) and helped Beşiktaş JK win the Süper Lig Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup for the 2020–21 season.

Club Brugge

On 4 July 2022, Cyle Larin signed a three-year contract with Club Brugge of the Belgian First Division A, where he teamed up with Canadian men’s teammate Tajon Buchanan. Larin made his match debut for Club Brugge on 17 July 2022 in a Belgian Super Cup match in a 1–0 win against Gent and became the Belgian Super Cup winner. Larin scored his first goal on 10 September in a 2–0 win against RFC Seraing.

Embed from Getty Images