Leaford Allen

Leaford Allen
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Burlington SC
Number 15
Youth career
Erin Mills SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Windsor Lancers 13 (3)
2019–2022 Humber Hawks 12 (17)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 Brampton City United II
2014 Brampton City United 13 (7)
2015 ProStars FC (9)
2016 Sigma FC 16 (17)
2017 Tenhults IF 18 (12)
2018 Nässjö IF 27 (19)
2019 Sigma FC 15 (10)
2021 Blue Devils FC 8 (7)
2022 Simcoe County Rovers 3 (2)
2022 Napier City Rovers 19 (9)
2023 Cebu 8 (1)
2024– Burlington SC 19 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 4, 2024

Leaford Allen (born 9 May 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player currently playing as a forward for Burlington SC in League1 Ontario.

College career

Allen played at the college level originally with the Windsor Lancers in 2014.[1][2] He returned to play college soccer in 2019 with Humber College.[3] Throughout his tenure with the Humber Hawks, he assisted the team in securing two provincial championships.[4]

Club career

Early career

Allen began playing at the youth level with Erin Mills and participated in the 2008 Mississauga Soccer Club international tournament.[5] He also played at the high school level with Sandalwood Heights Secondary School.[6]

Allen played in the interprovincial Canadian Soccer League in 2013 with Brampton City United's reserve team in the Second Division.[7] The following season he was promoted to the senior team in the First Division.[8] He would record a hattrick in the season's opening match against SC Waterloo Region.[8] In his debut season in the top division, he assisted the club in securing a playoff berth by finishing eighth in the standings.[9] Brampton would be eliminated in the opening round of the postseason by the York Region Shooters.[10] Allen finished the 2014 campaign as the club's top goal scorer with 7 goals in 13 appearances.[11]

In 2015, he played in League1 Ontario with ProStars FC, scoring nine goals.[12][13] He was named to the Second Team All-Star selection.[14] For the following season, he played with league rivals Sigma FC.[15][16] During the 2016 season, he was selected for the league's all-star match to represent the Western Conference.[17] Throughout the all-star match, he contributed two goals and was named the match's MVP.[18]

Europe

In early 2017, he signed a deal abroad in Sweden's Division 2 with Tenhults IF.[19][20][21] Throughout his single season with Tenhults, he finished as the club's top goal scorer with 12 goals.[22] He continued his stint abroad in 2018 by securing a contract with Nässjö IF.[23] Where he finished third in the league scoring charts with 19 goals.[22]

Canada

Following his brief stint in Europe, he returned to the southern Ontario circuit League1 Ontario to former club Sigma FC for the 2019 season.[24][25] In 2021, he played with league rivals Blue Devils FC[26] where the team reached the championship final but lost the match to Guelph United.[27] The next season he remained in the regional circuit by signing with the expansion side, Simcoe County Rovers.[28][4]

Abroad

Allen's tenure with the Barrie-based club was short-lived as he shortly after secured a deal with Napier City Rovers in New Zealand's Central League.[29][30][31] In his debut season with Napier, he appeared in 19 matches and scored 9 goals.[32] He also helped the club secure a berth in the National League Championship.[33]

In 2023, he signed for Cebu in the Philippines Football League.[34][35] He recorded a goal in his debut match for Cebu against Kaya F.C.–Iloilo on February 19, 2023.[36][37] After a season with Cebu, he was released from his contract in the 2023 offseason.[38]

References

  1. ^ "Leaford Allen - Men's Soccer". Windsor Lancers. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Lumley throws 3 TDs in AKO rout; Amherst takes gold at Saints hoops tourney". Windsor Star. 29 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Leaford Allen". Humber College. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Canadian international Janine Beckie joins Simcoe County FC ownership group". Canadian Press. 13 January 2022.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Gary (20 May 2008). "Falcons rule the roost". Mississauga News.
  6. ^ "Panthers claw way to Peel soccer crown". Brampton Guardian. 1 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Brampton City United B roster". canadiansoccerleague.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Brampton City United starts soccer season off right". Brampton Guardian. 28 May 2014.
  9. ^ "York Region Shooters complete unbeaten season". Vaughan Citizen. 6 October 2014.
  10. ^ "York Region Shooters advance to semis, extend unbeaten streak to 19". Vaughan Citizen. 13 October 2014.
  11. ^ "2014 First Division Stats". archive.ph. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Scoring Leaders". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "ProStars stopped by Windsor". Brampton Guardian. 10 June 2015.
  14. ^ "2015 League1 Ontario Men's All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Leaford Allen's hat-trick leads Mississauga Sigma to League1 soccer win". Mississauga News. 11 May 2016.
  16. ^ "Leaford Allen 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  17. ^ "Oakville Blue Devils have three players in League1 Ontario's first all-star game". Oakville Beaver. 25 July 2016.
  18. ^ "Brampton's Allen MVP in League I all star soccer contest". Brampton Guardian. 10 August 2016.
  19. ^ Colpitts, Iain (23 April 2017). "Sigma, Panthers to embark on League 1 season". Mississauga News. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Five More League1 Players Sign Professional Contracts". 12 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Underläge i halvtid - då fixade Leaford Allen och Dan-Karlo Goranci Tenhults vändning" [Half-time deficit - then Leaford Allen and Dan-Karlo Goranci fixed Tenhult's turnaround]. ut.se. ut.se. 10 June 2017.
  22. ^ a b Jacques, John (11 January 2022). "Simcoe County Rovers Sign League1 Ontario Star Leaford Allen". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Allens målshow värmde – "Sverige är kallare än Kanada"" [Allen's goal show warmed up - "Sweden is colder than Canada"]. smalandsdagblad.se. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Leaford Allen 2019 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  25. ^ "Men's And Women's 2019 First, Second And Third Team All-Stars". League1 Ontario. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  26. ^ "Leaford Allen 2021 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  27. ^ Lang, Pierce (10 November 2021). "Early mistakes lead to dual defeats for Blue Devils FC in League1 Ontario Finals". Oakville News. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  28. ^ "Leaford Allen 2022 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  29. ^ Jacques, John (22 May 2022). "Simcoe County Striker Leaford Allen Departs For Napier City". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  30. ^ Reid, Neil (4 October 2022). "On target: Striker's goal as Rovers take aim at National League opposition". NZ Herald. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Pair of Rovers on the move to Canadian Premier League". BradfordToday.ca. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  32. ^ Leaford Allen at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  33. ^ "Three more clubs qualify for NZF National League Finals". NZ Sports Wire. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  34. ^ Aznar, Edri (16 February 2023). "Cebu FC signs new players, plays against Kaya Feb. 19". SunStar Cebu. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  35. ^ "TEAM ROSTER - Cebu Football Club". Philippines Football League on Facebook. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  36. ^ "Football: Cebu hacks out 3-2 win over Kaya as PFL resumes". ABS-CBN News. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  37. ^ Tan, Stewart (19 February 2023). "Cebu stuns Kaya-Iloilo on the road as PFL reopens". dugout.ph. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  38. ^ G. Rosal, Glendale (20 July 2023). "Cebu Football Club part ways with eight of its players ahead of Copa Paulino Alcantara". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 29 October 2023.