By james art The winner will be determined by the club’s technical management and media vote, which will be announced at the 2024 CPL Awards Ceremony on 7 November
Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Premier League announced Monday the nominees for this year’s Gold Glove Award, which honors the best goalie in the 2024 regular season.
Pacific FC’s Emil Gazdov, Vancouver FC’s Callum Irving and York United FC’s Thomas Vincencini make up this year’s three-man ballot. The winner will be determined by a vote of technical management from all eight CPL clubs, as well as selected members of the media representing local and national outlets that have consistently covered the 2024 CPL regular season. The winner will be announced at an in-person awards ceremony in Calgary , Alta. on Thursday 7 November as part of the 2024 CPL finals celebrations.
Voting for the CPL Golden Glove Award is based on performance during the 2024 CPL regular season, not including the Canadian Championship, the Concacaf Champions Cup or the 2024 CPL Playoffs.
Gazdov, 21, continued to emerge as one of the best young Canadians in the league in his first year as the No. 1 for Pacific FC. Despite missing time due to illness, Gazdov finished the regular season tied for second with seven shutouts. He allowed 0.94 goals per 90 minutes, which ranked him second among CPL goalies with at least 10 starts, and tied for third in shots per 90 minutes (12.28) among goalies with at least 10 starts. Gazdov’s save percentage of 72.31 ranked third among goaltenders with at least 10 starts. Gazdov’s natural shot-stopping ability and reliability were critical to the stability of the Trident’s defense in 2024. This is his first Gold Glove nomination.
Irving started all 28 games for FC Vancouver in his second season with the club. The Eagles captain led by example as well as in statistics, finishing first among all CPL goalkeepers with a league-high 96 saves, 59 saves from the box and 34 saves from outside the box. His 3.43 saves per 90 minutes ranked him first among CPL goalkeepers with at least 10 starts. A CPL veteran, Irving provided the needed reliability between the posts for the club in his second season. This is Irving’s third nomination for the awards, having previously earned nominations in 2020 and 2022 as one of the CPL’s best goalkeepers in those seasons.
Vincensini’s debut season in the CPL saw him start all 28 matches for York United FC. His stewardship of the Nine Stripes was key to the club’s record-breaking year in which the team conceded fewer goals than ever in a 28-game season despite several injuries to their centre-backs. He was named the Allstate CPL Goaltender of the Month twice, in June and August, becoming the only CPL netminder to earn the honor more than once this year. Vincencini finished the regular season second in games won by a goaltender with 11 wins, as well as third among goaltenders with six shutouts and 73 saves, respectively. This is his first Golden Glove nomination.
The winner of the Golden Glove Award will receive a unique piece of soapstone Inuit art, conceived by artist Kelipalik Etidloye and carved by Ruben Komangapik. The Canadian Inuit Dog Statue is awarded annually to the CPL goalie voted the best in their position, as the Canadian Inuit Dog and goalies are also advocates who play a vital role in protecting their communities.
The 2024 CPL Awards Ceremony will be broadcast live on specialty soccer channel OneSoccer and streamed on CBC Gem and cbcsports.ca beginning at 8:00 PM ET/6:00 PM MT. The show will be hosted by Andi Petrillo with appearances by current and former CPL players and coaches, as well as special guests from the Canadian soccer community.
OneSoccer, Canada’s dedicated soccer home, is available through the OneSoccer.ca website, through Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV devices, and with the OneSoccer app for iOS and Android devices. OneSoccer is also available as a linear channel on Optik TV (Ch. 980), the pay TV service operated by TELUS, and on the streaming service fuboTV Canada.