Vanessa Gilles

Vanessa Brigitte Gilles (born March 11, 1996) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon, on loan from Angel City FC, and the Canada national team.

Vanessa Gilles
Personal information
Full name Vanessa Brigitte Gilles[1]
Date of birth (1996-03-11) March 11, 1996
Place of birth Châteauguay, Quebec, Canada
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Lyon
(on loan from Angel City)
Number 21
Youth career
2012–2014 Ottawa Capital United SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Cincinnati Bearcats 82 (17)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 West Ottawa SC 9 (2)
2018 Apollon Limassol 11 (10)
2018–2021 Bordeaux 65 (4)
2022– Angel City 7 (1)
2022– → Lyon (loan) 14 (4)
International career‡
2018 France U23 1 (0)
2019– Canada 30 (3)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 TokyoTeam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 15, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 26, 2023

Early career

Originally a tennis player, in her teenage years, Gilles quit the sport to switch to soccer. After briefly attempting to play as a goalkeeper, she became a defender.[3] She played for FC Capital United in Ottawa, Ontario, winning a league title in 2013. At the 2013 Canada Summer Games, she won a bronze medal with Team Ontario.[4]

College career

She then played for the Cincinnati Bearcats in the United States from 2014 to 2017. She was named 2015 American Athletic Conference Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Tournament and, in 2016, became the first Bearcats women's athlete to earn all-conference first team accolades in both the preseason and postseason in American Athletic Conference history.[5] In 2017, she was named American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year. When she won an Olympic gold medal in 2021, she became the fifth athlete in Bearcats history to do so.[6]

Club career

West Ottawa SC

In May 2017, Gilles joined League1 Ontario side West Ottawa SC. She scored 2 goals in 9 appearances in the regular season,[7] and was selected to the 2017 League1 Ontario All-Star third team.[8] She was also selected to represent League1 Ontario in the All-Star game against the Team Ontario squad competing in the 2017 Canada Games.[9][10]

Apollon Limassol

In January 2018, Gilles signed a short-term contract with Cypriot First Division side Apollon Limassol.[11] She made her professional debut for the club on January 14, starting in a 1–1 draw with Anorthosis Famagusta.[8] She scored 10 goals in 11 appearances for the club in the regular season,[12] and made 3 appearances in the Cypriot Women's Cup tournament, helping Apollon Limassol win the final against Pyrgos Limassol on penalties.[13][14]

Bordeaux

In July 2018, Gilles signed a two-year contract with Division 1 Féminine side Girondins de Bordeaux.[15][14] In May 2020, she signed a two-year extension with Bordeaux.[16]

Angel City FC

After 3.5 years at Bordeaux, Gilles would transfer to NWSL club Angel City FC for an undisclosed fee. She would sign a contract for 2022 with an option for 2023.[17]

Lyon (loan)

In September 2022, Gilles signed for Lyon on a season-long loan.[18]

International career

Although born in Quebec, Gilles was eligible to play for France as her father was born in Paris.[19] In November 2018, Gilles was called into the France U23 camp, and played for Les Bleues in a 5–2 victory against Belgium.[20]

Canada

On January 18, 2019, she made her unofficial debut for Canada in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Switzerland.[21] On November 10, she made her official debut in a 3–0 victory against New Zealand at the 2019 Yongchuan International Tournament.[22]

She was named to the Canadian national team for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She scored the decisive penalty shootout goal for Canada in the quarterfinals against Brazil.[23] Although her penalty shootout attempt in the final of the tournament against Sweden hit the crossbar, Canada won the game and she would earn her first Olympic gold medal.[24] She was named to the roster for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[25]

Personal life

On March 20, 2019, Gilles spoke at the United Nations in New York City, as part of the 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.[26]

For the first twelve years of her life, her family lived in Shanghai, before returning to Canada to live in Ottawa.[27] She graduated high school from École secondaire publique Louis-Riel and then graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati with a major in criminal justice and a minor in IT.[28][29]

Career statistics

Club
As of September 15, 2023.[30][31][32]
Club League Season League Cup Continental Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
West Ottawa SC League1 Ontario 2017 92———92
Apollon Limassol Cypriot First Division 2017–18 111030——1410
Girondins de Bordeaux D1 Féminine 2018–19 20110——211
2019–20 16030——190
2020–21 19110——201
2021–22 1020042—144
Total 654504200746
Angel City FC NWSL 2022 716100—132
Lyon (loan) D1 Féminine 2022–23 1333061—224
2023–24 1100001021
Career total 144306110235
Career total 106211711031013425

Honours

Apollon Limassol

Lyon

Canada

Individual

References
  1. "Women's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020 Squad Lists" (PDF). FIFA.
  2. Vanessa Gilles at the Canadian Soccer Association
  3. "Centre back Vanessa Gilles making case to be part of Canadian Olympic roster".
  4. "'I was crying': Former teammate, coaches watch Ottawa defender's gold-medal win". CBC.ca. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  5. "Vanessa Gilles – Women's Soccer".
  6. "Vanessa Gilles, Canada Claim Gold Medal in Epic Win over Sweden".
  7. "Vanessa Gilles". League1 Ontario. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  8. "Four League1 Alumni Sign High-Profile Pro Contracts". League1 Ontario. February 6, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  9. "Final Selection Announced For 2017 Women's All-Star Match Versus Canada Games' Team Ontario". League1 Ontario. July 25, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  10. "2017 Women's League1 Ontario All-Stars Defeated In Penalties By Canada Games' Team Ontario". League1 Ontario. July 26, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  11. "Gilles Signs Professional Contract with Apollon Ladies FC". University of Cincinnati Athletics. January 19, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  12. Prusina, Sandra (May 20, 2019). "Vanessa Gilles took different path towards Canadian women's team". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  13. "APOLLON LIMASSOL VS. PYRGOS LIMASSOL 2 – 2". Soccerway. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  14. "Gilles Signs with Girondins de Bordeaux in French First Division". University of Cincinnati Athletics. July 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  15. "Vanessa Gilles rejoint les Girondins" (in French). FC Girondins de Bordeaux. July 16, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  16. "Vanessa Gilles obtient une prolongation à Bordeaux". La Presse. May 26, 2020.
  17. "Angel City Football Club signs Canadian Olympic Gold medalist Vanessa Gilles". Angel City FC. December 17, 2021.
  18. https://www.ol.fr/fr/actualites/arrivee-sous-forme-de-pret-de-vanessa-gilles-angel-city
  19. "Vanessa Gilles". Canada Soccer Association. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  20. "Vanessa Gilles Receives Call From Canadian Women's National Team". University of Cincinnati Athletics. January 10, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  21. Jobin, Jonathan (January 18, 2019). "Le début d'un rêve pour Vanessa Gilles avec l'équipe nationale". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  22. "Canada WNT win 3:0 over New Zealand to close out 2019 international season". Canada Soccer Association. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  23. "Gilles, Labbe lift Canada to Olympic semifinal after penalty kicks win over Brazil". July 30, 2021.
  24. "Canada win Olympic title after Julia Grosso sinks Sweden in shootout". TheGuardian.com. August 6, 2021.
  25. "Former L1O players Smith and Gilles are heading to the Women's World Cup". League1 Ontario. July 11, 2023.
  26. "Vanessa Gilles Speaks at UN-Women's Commission Event". University of Cincinnati Athletics. January 21, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  27. "Vanessa Gilles, "globe-footeuse" de combats". fr.besoccer.com.
  28. "La Franco-Ontarienne Vanessa Gilles championne olympique de soccer". August 6, 2021.
  29. "Une franco d'Ottawa propulse le Canada en demi-finale". July 30, 2021.
  30. "Vanessa Gilles". Soccerway. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  31. "Vanessa Gilles". Cyprus Football Association. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  32. "Vanessa Gilles". Footofeminin.fr (in French). Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  33. "Dumornay, Lavelle and Shaw headline CMU20 Best XI". CONCACAF. July 19, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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