His coach has referred to him as the unsung hero of the team.
 
That's high praise indeed for fifth-year defender Daniel Gogarty, who has anchored Coach Carmine Isacco's defense since the 2015 season. He's come a long way from the six-year-old kid who first started out in the sport.
 
"I first started playing around the age of six," said Gogarty, when asked to recall his introduction to the sport. "My uncle was coaching a house league team and my mom thought it would be a good idea to get me into sports. I ended up having tons of fun and kept playing, and I still have fun today every time I step on the field."
 
After being used as a reserve player during his rookie year in 2014, Gogarty broke through in 2015 and has started 45 regular season games and all 18 playoff games over the last three seasons. He's been one of the Lions most important players since entering the starting lineup and has been a huge part of the Lions leading the OUA in goals against over the last four seasons. The centre-back takes pride in being able to affect the outcome of the game without filling up the scoresheet.
 
"My favourite part about playing defense is being able to help my team in any way I can," said the Business Economics major. "It doesn't have to be by scoring goals (which never happens!) but by making an impact any way I can and making the players around me better. The little things that might go unnoticed like breaking up a play, or playing a proper ball to one of the forwards are just a couple things that I take a great deal of pride in."
 
'Gogs' as he referred to by his teammates, has seen nothing but success since suiting up for the Lions. The team has won two U SPORTS championships (2014, 2015) and has qualified for the national championship tournament in each of his four years. They have also picked up three OUA championship titles (2014, 2015, 2017) as well as the OUA silver medal in 2016. The Scarborough, Ont., native has also received personal accolades as he's twice been named a U SPORTS all-Canadian and is a two-time OUA first-team all-star. While the personal accolades are nice, Gogarty points to the national championship win in 2015 as the high point of his career so far at York.  
 
"In second year, winning nationals on home turf was such a surreal experience and definitely one of my favourite soccer moments," said Gogarty, when asked what stands out from his career heading into his final season. "We worked so hard all year and to see it come to fruition was very satisfying. Being able to set a national championship as a lofty goal at the beginning of the year and knowing the hard work and preparation that went into it was extremely rewarding."
 
Back in 2015, Gogarty was in his first season as a starter with the Lions and ended up being named the player of the game in the national championship final. Now one of the elder statesmen in the Lions dressing room and armed with a championship pedigree, Gogarty is counted on as much for his leadership off the field as his play on the field. He hopes to pass on his knowledge to the younger players on the team, much like the senior players did for him when he was a rookie.
 
"Being a first-year student-athlete can be a hard transition, but there are some things you can do to make it a little easier," said Gogarty. "The most important thing is finding a healthy balance between student life, athlete life and having fun. With so much going on it's sometimes hard to find free time to enjoy yourself while still getting all your school work done and going to practice. But making sure you enjoy yourself along the way is definitely very important, and the more you enjoy student life the more motivated you will be in the classroom and on the field."
 
That motivation has led to Gogarty achieving great things on the pitch throughout his Lions career. With one more season to go wearing the York red and white, Gogarty and the rest of his teammates are primed to take another run through the OUA playoffs and once again challenge for a national title. 
 
GETTING TO KNOW DANIEL
 
Any superstitions or rituals?
I cut my socks for maximum comfort
 
What was your favourite TV show growing up?
SpongeBob SquarePants (and it's not close)
 
If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?
Extreme fashion sense
 
What's on your bucket list?
Travel to every country in the world