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Vital Kats

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Vital Kats
Personal information
Full name Vital Zina Kats[1]
Date of birth (1999-11-18) 18 November 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Netanya, Israel
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Kiryat Gat
Youth career
El Salvador SC
Unionville Milliken SC
Scarborough GS United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Kent State Golden Flashes 58 (22)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 ProStars FC (3)
2016 Aurora United FC 2 (2)
2018–2019 DeRo United FC 10 (2)
2021–2022 Glasgow City 7 (4)
2022–2023 SC Braga 6 (1)
2023SC Braga B 1 (0)
2023–2024 Kiryat Gat 12 (4)
International career
2016 Canada U17 8 (2)
2015–2016 Canada U20 4 (1)
2020– Israel 12 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 April 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 July 2024

Vital Zina Kats (Hebrew: ויטאל זינה קאטס; born 18 November 1999) is an Israeli footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kiryat Gat in the Israeli Ligat Nashim and the Israel women's national team.

Early life

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Born in Israel, Kats moved to Toronto, Canada at the age of seven. She began playing soccer at the age of 9 with El Salvador SC in Toronto, before later playing with Unionville Milliken SC and Scarborough GS United.[2] With GS United, she won the 2016 Ontario Cup as women's provincial amateur champions.[3]

College career

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In 2017, she began attending Kent State University, where she played for the women's soccer team. She scored a goal in her debut on August 20, 2017 against the Cleveland State Vikings.[4] As a freshman in 2017, Kats led all MAC freshmen in scoring with six goals and four assists, also leading the team in scoring.[5] She was named the MAC Freshman of The Year, and was named to the All-MAC Second Team, MAC All-Freshman Team, First Team All-Ohio, and USC All-Midwest Region Second Team.[6] In 2018, she once again led the team in scoring and was named to the USC All-Midwest Region First Team, All-MAC First Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team, OCSA All-Ohio First Team, and was a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC.[6] In 2019, she was named to the USC All-Midwest Region Third Team, All-MAC First Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team, OCSA All-Ohio First Team, and was a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC.[6] During the Spring 2021 season (delayed from the 2020 Fall), she was named a All-MAC Second Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, and Academic All-MAC.[6][7]

Club career

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In 2015, she briefly played with ProStars FC in League1 Ontario,[8] with whom she scored 3 goals.[9]

In 2016, she played with Aurora United FC in League1 Ontario, making two appearances.[10] She scored two goals in her debut on August 13 against Durham United FA.[11] She was a finalist for the Goal of the Year award.[12]

In 2018 and 2019, she played with DeRo United FC.[13][14] She scored her first goal for DeRo United in a League Cup victory on June 24 against North Mississauga SC.[15] She scored her first league goal on July 8 against Toronto Azzurri Blizzard.[16]

In August 2021, Kats signed her first professional contract with Scottish Women's Premier League side Glasgow City F.C.[17][18][19][20] She scored her first goal for the club on August 18, 2021 during a 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying match against Maltese club Birkirkara.[21] She departed the club after the season.[22]

In July 2022, she joined Portuguese club S.C. Braga in the Campeonato Nacional Feminino.[23] She made her debut for Braga in the Supertaça de Portugal semi-finals against Benfica on 10 August, coming on as a substitute.[24]

International career

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In 2014, Kats attended a training camp with the Canada U15 team for her Canadian youth program debut.[2] In December 2015, she won a silver medal with the Canada U20 at the 2015 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship,[2] where she scored in her debut in a 7-0 victory over Jamaica U20 on December 6.[25] In 2016, she played with the Canada U17 at the 2016 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, where they finished third, and the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup,[26] and also played in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[2]

She made her senior debut for Israel on 21 October 2020 during the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying.[27]

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 26 September 2023 Tamme Stadium, Tartu, Estonia  Estonia 4–0 5–0 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League
2. 9 April 2024 Ménfői úti Stadion, Győr, Hungary  Serbia 1–1 2–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying

Personal life

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Kats' parents were born in Minsk, Soviet Union (now Belarus)[2] and, being Jewish, made aliyah to Israel, where she was born.

References

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  1. ^ Vital Kats at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Vital Kats at the Canadian Soccer Association
  3. ^ "Scarborough GS win fourth straight women's Ontario Cup". Ontario Soccer Association. 9 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Soccer Bested by Cleveland State 2-1 in Home Opener". Kent State Golden Flashes. 20 August 2017.
  5. ^ Moff, Allen (5 November 2017). "Six Kent State women's soccer stars earn All-MAC honors". Record-Courier.
  6. ^ a b c d "Vital Kats Kent State profile". Kent State Golden Flashes.
  7. ^ "Kats Named Academic All-American". Kent State Golden Flashes. 5 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Three League1 Ontario Players Called To Canada U20 Women's Team". League1 Ontario. 3 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Scoring leaders". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Vital Kats 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  11. ^ "Vital Kats Brace Helps Aurora Topple Durham 4-1". League1 Ontario. 14 August 2016.
  12. ^ Glover, Robin (28 November 2016). "League1 Ontario 2016 Awards Luncheon". Northern Starting XI. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Vital Kats 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  14. ^ "Vital Kats 2019 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  15. ^ Cerjanec, Robert (25 June 2018). "Sribny, Kats And Norman-Minnis Goals Send DeRo To L1 Cup Semis". League1 Ontario.
  16. ^ Whyte, Kacian (9 July 2018). "Kirton And Kats Carry DeRo To 3-1 Win Over Blizzard". League1 Ontario.
  17. ^ "Glasgow City welcome Vital Kats". Glasgow City F.C. 5 August 2021.
  18. ^ Falk, Graham (5 August 2021). "Vital Kats: Glasgow City confirm signing of Israeli international". The Scotsman.
  19. ^ Frith, Wilf (5 August 2021). "Glasgow City sign Vital Kats". She Kicks.
  20. ^ "Vital Kats: SWPL1 champions Glasgow City sign Israel midfielder". BBC Sport. 5 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Glasgow City 3-0 Birkirkara: Hosts ease to victory in Women's Champions League qualifier". Ghana SoccerNet. 18 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Glasgow City FC: Squad update". Glasgow City F.C. 17 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Início de pré-época" [Pre-season start]. SC Braga (in Portuguese). 4 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Derrota no Benfica Campus" [Defeat at Benfica Campus]. SC Braga. 10 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Canada routs Jamaica at CONCACAF women's U20". Sportsnet. 6 December 2015.
  26. ^ Gallo, Anthony (31 December 2016). "Forty-Nine League1 Players (Incl. Alumni) Represented Canada In 2016". League1 Ontario.
  27. ^ "Vital Kats". Senior CLASS Award.
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