# Nyal Higgins

Nyal Christian-Anthony Higgins (born January 19, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays for York United FC in the Canadian Premier League.

## College

In 2016, he attended Oakland University, playing for the Golden Grizzlies soccer team. As a freshman, he was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team and the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Regional Third Team. In his sophomore and junior seasons, he was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team. In 2019, he transferred to Syracuse University to play for the Syracuse Orange soccer team.

## Club career

During the 2016 and 2018 seasons, he played with Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario. In 2017, he played with the Michigan Bucks in the Premier Development League. In 2018, he trained with three Major League Soccer clubs - Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew SC, and Nashville SC. He later trained with Toronto FC in 2019.
He was selected 19th overall by Toronto FC in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft. He attended pre-season with the club, but ultimately did not make the final roster for 2020. In July, he signed a USL contract with the second-team Toronto FC II. He was soon after sent on loan to Nyköpings BIS in the Swedish third tier, following TFC II's withdrawal from the 2020 USL League One season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He scored his first goal on November 21, in a 7-1 defeat to IF Brommapojkarna. He made his debut for Toronto FC II on May 22, 2021 against North Texas SC.
In August 2021, Higgins joined Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa on loan. He made his debut in a substitute appearance, on August 25, against Forge FC.
In February 2022, he signed a contract with FC Edmonton in the Canadian Premier League.
In 2023, he returned to Vaughan Azzurri. He was named a league Second Team All-Star at the end of the season.
In April 2024, he signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2025 with York United FC in the Canadian Premier League. He scored his first CPL goal on September 6, 2024, in a 1-0 victory over Vancouver FC. At the end of the 2024 season, the club picked up his option for 2025.

## International career

He was a member of the U-18 and U-20 Canada national team talent pools.

## Career statistics

    As of match played on October 27, 2024
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Playoffs | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Domestic Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Vaughan Azzurri | 2016 | League1 Ontario | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ? | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Michigan Bucks | 2017 | PDL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Vaughan Azzurri | 2018 | League1 Ontario | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Toronto FC II | 2021 | USL League One | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Nyköpings BIS (loan) | 2020 | Ettan Norra | 17 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 |
| Atlético Ottawa (loan) | 2021 | Canadian Premier League | 8 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| FC Edmonton | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 24 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| Vaughan Azzurri | 2023 | League1 Ontario | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| York United FC | 2024 | Canadian Premier League | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 108 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 1 |