Nicolas Lesage

Nicolas Lesage
Lesage in 2007
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Lesage Moussavou-Nzamba
Date of birth (1980-01-03) January 3, 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Libreville, Gabon
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1999–2004 UQTR Patriotes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Toledo Slayers 14 (8)
2005 Montreal Impact 0 (0)
2005 Laval Dynamites 6 (5)
2006 Trois-Rivières Sélect 20 (23)
2007–2008 Trois-Rivières Attak 40 (26)
2008 → Montreal Impact (loan) 1 (0)
2012 L'Assomption 14 (5)
Total 95 (77)
International career
2013 Québec 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 12, 2016

Nicolas Lesage (born January 3, 1980) is a Gabonese retired footballer who played as a striker. He played at international level with the Quebec national soccer team.

Club career

Early career

Lesage played college soccer with the UQTR Patriotes for five years.[1][2] During his university career, his achievements were being named a member of the CIS all-star team for three years.[3] In his final season with the Patriotes, he finished fourth in the overall CIS scoring charts with 13 goals.[4]

After the completion of his college career, he was invited along with Jean-Louis Bessé to the Toledo Slayers preseason training camp in 2004.[4] He would ultimately play with the team in the USL Premier Development League.[5][2] In his debut season in the PDL, he appeared in 14 matches and recorded 8 goals.[5]

Montreal Impact

In early 2005, before the commencement of the regular season, he played in several preseason matches for the Montreal Impact of the USL First Division.[6][7] On April 23, 2005, Montreal signed Lesage along with Kevin Wilson to a contract.[8][9] The primary reason behind his signing was to fill the void left by striker Frederick Commodore who received a career-ending injury.[10]

Two months later he was loaned to play in the Canadian Professional Soccer League with Laval Dynamites.[11][12] He recorded his first two goals on July 24, 2005, against Hamilton Thunder.[13] He helped Laval secure a playoff berth by finishing third in the Eastern Conference.[14]

Trois-Rivières

In 2006, he played in the Ligue de Soccer Elite Quebec the province's regional circuit with his hometown club Trois-Rivières Sélect.[15] He finished the season as the league's top goalscorer with 23 goals and assisted in securing the regular-season title.[3][15]

He returned to the interprovincial CPSL (later renamed Canadian Soccer League) the following season but remained in his hometown as Laval Dynamites were relocated and renamed Trois-Rivières Attak.[16][17] He made his Attak debut against Toronto Croatia in a 0–0 tie on May 13, 2007.[18][19] He helped the team record their first victory on May 20, 2007, when he scored a goal against the Canadian Lions.[20] Lesage contributed significantly to Trois-Rivières' successful debut in the Open Canada Cup tournament where he recorded a goal in the finals against Columbus Clan F.C. which marked the first time a team from Quebec captured the title.[21][22]

Throughout the regular season, he helped Trois-Rivières achieve an 18-game undefeated streak and clinched a postseason berth by finishing second in the National Division.[23] As the Attak entered the playoffs, Lesage scored the first goal in a 3–0 victory which eliminated defending champions Italia Shooters in the quarterfinal round.[24] Their playoff run ended on October 21, 2007, against the Serbian White Eagles with two first-half goals coincided he scored in the 84 minute to bring life to the Attak, but Serbia hung on and advanced to the finals.[25] Individually he also had a successful season as he finished as the league's leading scorer in all competitions.[26][27]

On February 12, 2008, Lesage extended his contract with the Attak for the 2008 season.[28] For the second consecutive season, he finished as the club's top goalscorer with 8 goals along with Pierre-Rudolph Mayard.[29] He also helped the Attak claim their first divisional title the National Division title.[29] In the opening round of the playoffs, he scored the winning goal against St. Catharines Wolves in a 2–0 victory.[30] In the semi-final match, Lesage contributed a goal in the 75' minute in a 7–0 victory over Portugal FC, and for the first time, the Attak advanced into the CSL Championship to face the Serbs.[31] In the finals, he came off the bench to score in the 70' minute and tie the game 1–1, after both teams equalized in extra time the game went into penalties where the White Eagles won the match 2–1.[32][33]

In 2009, the club began to change its philosophical approach and begin to transition into a developmental system for its parent club the Montreal Impact.[34] The result of these changes saw less recruitment of players from the Trois-Rivières region and more from Montreal.[34][35] Lesage was welcomed to continue with the club but declined to sign on.[34]

Return to Montreal

In 2008, the Montreal Impact was experiencing a shortage of players due to injuries and suspensions, and as a result, Lesage was called up to fill in.[36] He would make his debut for Montreal on June 4, 2008, against Miami FC.[37][38]

In 2012, he played in the newly formed Première Ligue de soccer du Québec with FC L'Assomption.[39]

International career

When the Quebec national soccer team was formed in 2013 head coach Patrick Leduc invited Lesage to the team camp in hopes of participating in the 2013 International Peoples, Cultures, and Tribes Tournament.[40][41] He was selected for the tournament and helped Quebec make the semifinal but was eliminated by Kurdistan Region.[42] He appeared in two matches throughout the tournament.[42]

Managerial career

Lesage became a senior coach in the Mauricie Regional Soccer Association in 2010.[35]

Honours

Club

Trois-Rivières Attak

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Impact signs forwards Kevin Wilsonand Nicolas Lesage". cfmontreal.com. April 23, 2005.
  2. ^ a b "Commodore pourrait rater la saison" [Commodore could miss the season]. Réseau des sports (in French). April 23, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Attak FC". 2007-11-06. Archived from the original on 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2017-05-11.{cite web}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b "Deux Patriotes invités aux États-Unis" [Two Patriots invited to the United States]. RDS.ca (in French). 2004-02-26. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  5. ^ a b "Nicholas Moussavou-Nzamba | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  6. ^ "L'Impact s'impose à Trois-Rivières" [The Impact wins in Trois-Rivières]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-04-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  7. ^ "Point d'interrogation en attaque" [Question mark in attack]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  8. ^ Hickey, Pat (April 30, 2005). "Impact opener 'scary': Rivera's equalizer one for the books". Montreal Gazette. p. C1.
  9. ^ "Impacts sign pair". Montreal Gazette. April 24, 2004. p. 11.
  10. ^ "Nicolas Lesage profite de son voyage" [Nicolas Lesage enjoys his trip]. RDS.ca (in French). April 27, 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Hickey, Mike (June 23, 2005). "Low-scoring Impact put undefeated record on line". Sherbrooke Record. p. 15.
  12. ^ "Le match au Vermont annulé" [Vermont game canceled]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  13. ^ "Les Dynamites explosent" [Dynamites explode]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-07-24. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  14. ^ "Les Dynamites en séries" [The Dynamites in series]. RDS.ca (in French). 2005-10-01. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  15. ^ a b "L'Attak de Trois-Rivières voit le jour" [The Attak of Trois-Rivières is born]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  16. ^ "Un premier match pour l'Attak" [A first match for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  17. ^ "ATTAK COMPLETES ITS TRAINING". May 2, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2017-05-13.{cite web}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ "An honorable draw". 2008-08-28. Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2017-05-11.{cite web}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ "Match nul pour l'Attak" [Draw for the Attak]. RDS.ca. 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  20. ^ "Victoire historique pour l'Attak" [Historic victory for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  21. ^ Meagher, John (September 6, 2007). "Anderson leads Attak". Newspapers.com. The Montreal Gazette. p. 72. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  22. ^ "Déjà un premier sacre pour l'Attak" [Already a first coronation for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-09-03. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  23. ^ "L'Attak termine par une défaite" [The Attak ends in defeat]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  24. ^ "L'Attak élimine les champions" [The Attak eliminates the champions]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  25. ^ "L'Attak éliminé" [The Attak eliminated]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  26. ^ "Lesage champion marqueur" [Lesage scoring champion]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  27. ^ "Joqueviel: le plus utile" [Joqueviel: the most useful]. RDS.ca (in French). 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  28. ^ "Prolongation de contrat pour Lesage" [Contract extension for Lesage]. RDS.ca (in French). 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  29. ^ a b L' Heureux, Serge (2008-11-05). "Dos Santos et l'Attak: part ou reste?" [Dos Santos and the Attak: go or stay?]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  30. ^ Lavoie, Alexandre (2008-10-13). "Attak: un premier pas vers la finale" [Attak: a first step towards the final]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  31. ^ "2008 CSL season" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "Serbian White Eagles CSL Champions". Alaska Highway News. October 27, 2008. p. A5.
  33. ^ "Défaite crève-coeur pour l'Attak" [Heartbreaking defeat for the Attak]. RDS.ca (in French). 2008-10-26. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  34. ^ a b c Martin, Robert (2009-03-12). "L'Attak prend le virage jeunesse" [The Attak takes the youth turn]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  35. ^ a b "Le départ de l'Attak était devenu inévitable" [The departure of the Attak had become inevitable]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  36. ^ Hickey, Pat (June 4, 2008). "Impact desperate for goals - and a victory; Face Miami FC tonight at Saputo Stadium". Montreal Gazette. p. C1.
  37. ^ "Statistiques de l'Impact de Montréal". ImpactSoccer.com (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  38. ^ Gauthier, Vincent (2018-06-05). ""Ça reste de très beaux souvenirs"" [It remains very beautiful memories]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  39. ^ "Ligue Semi-Pro du Québec". Nouvelles du soccer dans l'Outaouais (in French). Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  40. ^ "L'équipe du Québec complétée" [Quebec team completed]. RDS.ca (in French). 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  41. ^ L' Heureux, Serge (2013-06-13). "Nicolas Lesage invité à un tournoi à Marseille" [Nicolas Lesage invited to a tournament in Marseille]. Le Nouvelliste (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  42. ^ a b L' Heureux, Serge (2013-07-04). "Nicolas Lesage et Durnick Jean de retour de Marseille" [Nicolas Lesage and Durnick Jean back from Marseille]. Le Nouvelliste (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-05.