A trio of York Lions were selected by Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams on Tuesday in the first ever CPL-U SPORTS draft by the upstart league. Fresh off their performances in the U SPORTS national championships last weekend, midfielder Dylan Carreiro and defender Daniel Gogarty were taken in the first round, while midfielder Emmanuel Zambazis was taken in the second round.
 
Both Gogarty and Zambazis were drafted by the York9, the first-ever professional sports team to be based in the York Region. York University is a foundational partner to the York9 squad and the team will play their home games on the York campus, beginning with their first season in 2019.  
 
Carreiro was drafted second overall by his hometown Valour FC team, which is based out of Winnipeg, Man. Carreiro has played two seasons with the Lions and was named an OUA West second-team all-star in 2017 in his first year with the team. He tied for 11^th in OUA scoring with seven goals that season and led the OUA in shots with 43.

After recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus in the off-season, he transitioned to midfield for the Lions this season and had another stellar season. He was named York male athlete of the week after helping the Lions win their second consecutive OUA championship and fifth in the last six years. Carreiro was a force at midfield for Lions in their 1-0 semi-final win over the Ryerson Rams on Friday and their 3-1 championship game win over the Carleton Ravens on Saturday, consistently setting up scoring chances on the offensive end and playing a strong defensive game. The Lions have won back-to-back OUA titles in Carreiro's two seasons on the team.

Gogarty was drafted not long after his teammate Carreiro, as York9 picked him up with the fourth overall selection. Gogarty just completed an outstanding five years with the Lions and earned his second consecutive first-team all-Canadian honours this season to go along with a second-team all-Canadian honour in 2016. Overall Gogarty played in 68 regular season games during his five years with the team and also picked up three consecutive OUA first-team all-star awards. The Lions won the OUA championship in four of his five years and won back-to-back national banners in 2014 and 2015.

Zambazis was drafted by the York9 in the second round with the 11^th overall pick. Zambazis completed his first year with the Lions after playing professionally in Greece and turned heads around the league in his freshman season with the Lions in the midfield. Zambazis was a late addition to the team at the end of training camp and stepped into a starting role on the team right away. He brought an elite and versatile skill set to the lineup and contributed one goal and two assists on the season.
 
In total, twenty-one players were drafted over three rounds and have been invited to attend their new CPL Club's preseason camp in early 2019. Players were notified in order of draft pick with the opportunity to sign either with a Standard Developmental Contract for non-graduating student-athletes or a Pro Contract for graduating seniors.
The unique partnership between the CPL and U SPORTS will provide student-athletes with an opportunity to be signed to a CPL-U SPORTS Developmental Contract. This will allow a student-athlete with one to four years of eligibility remaining to play with a CPL club in the spring and summer before returning to U SPORTS competition.
 
Full Draft Results
 
Round 1:

1. Cavalry FC - Gabriel Bitar (Ottawa, Ont.) – Carleton University – Forward – 2^nd year
2. Valour FC - Dylan Carreiro (Winnipeg, Man.) – York University – Midfielder – 3^rd year
3. Forge FC - Jace Kotsopoulus (Burlington, ON) – University of Guelph – Forward – 3^rd year
4. York9 FC - Daniel Gogarty (Scarborough, Ont.) – York University – Defender – 5^th year
5. HFX Wanderers - Peter Schaale (Bernkastel-Kues, Germany) – Cape Breton University – Defender – 3^rd year
6. Pacific FC - Thomas Gardner (North Vancouver, B.C.) – UBC – Forward – 1^st year
7. FC Edmonton - Connor James (Edmonton, Alta.) – University of Alberta – Goalkeeper – 5^th year                                                                                               

Round 2:

8. FC Edmonton – Ajeej Sarkaria – (Calgary, AB) – University of Alberta – Forward – 3^rd year  
9. Pacific FC – Zach Verhoven (Surrey, BC) – UBC – Forward – 3^rd year         
10. HFX Wanderers – Andre Bona (Marseille, Que.) – UQAM – Defender – 5^th year    
11. York9 FC – Emmanuel Zambazis (Toronto, Ont.) York University – Midfielder – 1^st year
12. Forge FC – Aboubacar Sissoko (Bamako, Mali) University of Montreal – Midfielder 4^th year          
13. Valour FC – Lewis White (Musselburgh, Scotland) University of Cape Breton – Defender – 2^nd year
14. Cavalry FC – Joel Waterman (Aldergrove, B.C.) Trinity Western University – Midfielder – 5^th year 

Round 3:

15. Cavalry FC – Easton Ongaro (Halifax, N.S.) – University of Alberta – Forward – 2^nd year
16. Valour FC – Jack Simpson (Redding, England) – University of Cape Breton – Midfielder – 2^nd year
17. Forge FC – Marko Mandekic (Montreal, Que.) – University of Toronto – Midfielder – 2^nd year
18. York9 – Daniel Pritchard (Nuneaton, England) University of Cape Breton – Defender – 4^th year
19. HFX Wanderers – Christian Oxner (Halifax, N.S.) – Saint Mary's – Goalkeeper – 4^th year    
20. Pacific FC – Nick Fussell (Surrey, B.C) – UBC – Midfielder – 1^st year
21. FC Edmonton – Noah Cunningham (St. Albert, Alta) – University of Alberta – Defender – 3^rd year