2023 HFX Wanderers FC season

Halifax Wanderers
2023 season
President	Derek Martin
Head coach	Patrice Gheisar
Stadium	Wanderers Grounds
Canadian Championship	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Massimo Ferrin (8); All: Massimo Ferrin (9)
Highest home attendance	6,413
Lowest home attendance	4,907
Average home league attendance	5,854
Biggest win	3-0 vs. Vancouver, 12 August
Biggest defeat	0-3 vs. York United, 20 May
Home colours	Away colours

The 2023 HFX Wanderers FC season was the fifth season in the history of HFX Wanderers FC. In addition to the Canadian Premier League, the club competed in the Canadian Championship.

This was be the club's first season led by Patrice Gheisar, who was announced as the club's new head coach on November 30, 2022. After finishing the season in third place, the Wanderers qualified to host their first home playoff game at the Wanderers Grounds in club history, which they lost 0-1 to Pacific FC on October 14, 2023.

Current squad

As of September 7, 2023

No.	Name	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Previous club
Goalkeepers
1	Yann-Alexandre Fillion	GK	February 14, 1996 (aged 27)	IFK Mariehamn
66	Aiden Rushenas	GK	May 23, 2003 (aged 20)	Dalhousie Tigers
Defenders
2	Daniel Nimick	CB	September 22, 2000 (aged 23)	Western Michigan Broncos
3	Zachary Fernandez	RB	September 24, 2001 (aged 22)	A.S. Blainville
4	Cristian Campagna	CB	November 29, 2001 (aged 22)	Whitecaps FC 2
5	Cale Loughrey	CB	August 4, 2001 (aged 22)	FC Edmonton
7	Ryan James	LB	April 21, 1994 (aged 29)	Birmingham Legion
15	Doneil Henry	CB	April 20, 1993 (aged 30)	Minnesota United
20	Jake Ruby	RB	June 4, 2000 (aged 23)	Trinity Western Spartans
22	Mohamed Omar	CB / CM / DM	January 22, 1999 (aged 24)	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
23	Riley Ferrazzo	FB	August 4, 1999 (aged 24)	Vaughan Azzurri
	Yorgos Gavas	CB		Whitecaps FC Academy
Midfielders
6	Lorenzo Callegari	CM	February 27, 1998 (aged 25)	Chambly
10	Aidan Daniels	AM	September 6, 1998 (aged 25)	OKC Energy
11	João Morelli	AM / CF	March 11, 1996 (aged 27)	FCI Levadia
13	Armaan Wilson	DM / CM	May 29, 2002 (aged 21)	Providence Friars
14	Callum Watson	CM	February 28, 2000 (aged 23)	Creighton Bluejays
17	Wesley Timoteo	RW / LW / FB	April 9, 2000 (aged 23)	FC Edmonton
18	Andre Rampersad	CM	February 2, 1995 (aged 28)	Santa Rosa
24	Tomas Giraldo	AM / CM	March 8, 2003 (aged 20)	CF Montréal
37	Lifumpa Mwandwe	RW / LW / CF	December 29, 2000 (aged 23)	Newtown
	Camilo Vasconcelos	AM	March 19, 2005 (aged 18)	Guelph United
Forwards
8	Massimo Ferrin	CF / RW / LW	December 6, 1998 (aged 25)	Vaughan Azzurri
9	Théo Collomb	CF	July 11, 2000 (aged 23)	Whitecaps FC 2
19	Tiago Coimbra	CF	January 17, 2004 (aged 19)	Palmeiras
21	Jordan Perruzza	FW	January 16, 2001 (aged 22)	Toronto FC

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Player	From club	Fee/notes	Date
17	MF	Wesley Timoteo	FC Edmonton	Return from loan	November 30, 2022
	DF	Ousman Maheshe	FC Edmonton	Return from loan	November 30, 2022
	MF	CJ Smith	FC Edmonton	Return from loan	November 30, 2022
19	FW	Tiago Coimbra	Palmeiras	Free	December 14, 2022
8	FW	Massimo Ferrin	Vaughan Azzurri	Free	December 21, 2022
6	MF	Lorenzo Callegari	Chambly	Free	January 10, 2023
1	GK	Yann-Alexandre Fillion	IFK Mariehamn	Free	January 18, 2023
23	DF	Riley Ferrazzo	Vaughan Azzurri	Free	January 20, 2023
14	MF	Callum Watson	Creighton Bluejays	Free	January 25, 2023
5	DF	Cale Loughrey	Forge FC	Free	February 1, 2023
24	MF	Tomas Giraldo	CF Montréal	Free	February 3, 2023
9	FW	Théo Collomb	Whitecaps FC 2	Free	February 8, 2023
7	DF	Ryan James	Birmingham Legion	Free	February 15, 2023
2	DF	Daniel Nimick	Western Michigan Broncos	Free	February 17, 2023
13	MF	Armaan Wilson	Providence Friars	Free	February 22, 2023
11	FW	Kosi Nwafornso	Vaughan Azzurri	Free	February 24, 2023
	DF	Ethan Schilte-Brown		Signed to a development contract	March 12, 2023
	FW	Kimani Stewart-Baynes	Vaughan Azzurri U19	Signed to a development contract	March 12, 2023
66	GK	Aiden Rushenas	Dalhousie Tigers	Selected 10th overall in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft	April 5, 2023
15	DF	Doneil Henry	Minnesota United	Free	July 18, 2023
	DF	Yorgos Gavas	Whitecaps FC Academy	Signed to a development contract	August 3, 2023
	MF	Camilo Vasconcelos	Guelph United	Signed to a development contract	September 7, 2023

Loans in

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
21	FW	Jordan Perruzza	Toronto FC	Loaned until end of season	August 7, 2023

Draft picks

HFX Wanderers selected the following players in the 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.

Round	Selection	Pos.	Player	Nationality	University
1	3	DF	Anthony Stolar	Canada	Cape Breton
2	10	GK	Aiden Rushenas	Canada	Dalhousie

Out

No.	Pos.	Player	To club	Fee/notes	Date
11	FW	Akeem Garcia	Retired		October 28, 2022
1	GK	Kieran Baskett	Pacific FC	Option declined	December 6, 2022
50	GK	Christian Oxner		Option declined	December 6, 2022
2	DF	Peter Schaale		Option declined	December 6, 2022
19	DF	Obeng Tabi	CS Saint-Laurent	Option declined	December 6, 2022
31	DF	Eriks Santos		Option declined	December 6, 2022
28	MF	Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé	York United	Option declined	December 6, 2022
7	FW	Alex Marshall		Option declined	December 6, 2022
8	FW	Elhadji Mour Samb		Option declined	December 6, 2022
5	MF	Pierre Lamothe	Pacific FC	Contract expired	December 6, 2022
21	MF	Marcello Polisi	Valour FC	Contract expired	December 6, 2022
23	FW	Cory Bent		Contract expired	December 6, 2022
	DF	Ousman Maheshe		Contract expired	December 31, 2022
	MF	CJ Smith	Vaughan Azzurri	Contract expired	December 31, 2022
9	FW	Samuel Salter	Atlético Ottawa	Undisclosed fee & sell-on clause	February 16, 2023
	DF	Ethan Schilte-Brown		Development contract ended	June 13, 2023
11	FW	Kosi Nwafornso		Contract terminated by mutual consent	June 13, 2023
	FW	Kimani Stewart-Baynes		Development contract ended	July 5, 2023
25	FW	Ludwig Kodjo Amla		Suspended for anti-doping violation	August 2, 2023

Loans out

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
37	MF	Lifumpa Mwandwe	Newtown	Loaned until February 28, 2023	January 3, 2023

Pre-season

The Halifax Wanderers began their pre-season on March 1 in Halifax before traveling to Auburndale, Florida, where they practiced at the Lake Myrtle Sports Park. While in Florida, games were played against Montverde Academy, Stetson University, Inter Miami CF II, and the University of South Florida.

Upon return to Halifax, a series of pre-season friendlies were held April 7 and 8 on Wickwire Field at Dalhousie University, which were open for fans to attend. The visiting teams were the Nepean Hotspurs Ottawa Selects, and Electric City FC.

Competitions

Matches are listed in Halifax local time: Atlantic Daylight Time (UTC−3)

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Canadian Premier League	April 15	October 6	Matchday 1	9	1	6	2	8	11	−3	011.11
Canadian Championship	April 19	April 19	First round	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Total				10	1	6	3	9	14	−5	010.00

Last updated: 13 June, 2023
Source: Competitions

Canadian Premier League

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Playoff qualification
1	Cavalry (S)	28	16	7	5	46	27	+19	55	First semifinal
2	Forge (C)	28	11	9	8	39	32	+7	42	First semifinal
3	HFX Wanderers	28	11	9	8	39	32	+7	42	Quarterfinal
4	Pacific	28	11	7	10	42	35	+7	40	Play-in round
5	York United	28	11	5	12	35	44	−9	38	Play-in round
6	Atlético Ottawa	28	10	6	12	38	34	+4	36
7	Vancouver	28	8	5	15	28	50	−22	29
8	Valour	28	6	8	14	25	38	−13	26

Source: CanPL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Total wins; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goal differential; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Home goal differential; 8) Home goals scored; 9) Total minutes played by U-21 players; 10) Coin toss (2 teams tied) or drawing of lots (3+ teams tied).
(C) Champion (qualified to Champions Cup); (S) CPL Shield winner (qualified to Champions Cup)
Notes:

Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2

Results by match

Match	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Result	D	D	D	D	D	L	D	L	W	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	W	L	D	L	W	L	W	W
Position	5	6	7	6	7	8	7	8	6	6	4	5	5	5	6	5	4	6	5	5	4	6	4	6	4	4	4	3

Updated to match(es) played on 20 October, 2023. Source: #Matches
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

15 April 2023 1	Atlético Ottawa	1-1	Halifax Wanderers	Ottawa, Ontario
14:00	Acosta 32' Bassett 45+2' Sacko 90+4'	Report	Fernandez 16' Omar 59' Watson 76'	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Attendance: 7,039 Referee: Michael Venne

22 April 2023 2	Forge FC	1-1	Halifax Wanderers	Hamilton, Ontario
17:00	James 77' Pacius 89'	Report	Ferrin 42' Callegari 49' Nimick 74' Ferrazzo 88'	Stadium: Tim Hortons Field Attendance: 3,827 Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla

29 April 2023 3	Halifax Wanderers	1-1	Vancouver FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Collomb 12' Ferrazzo 41' Callegari 57' Fernandez 89'	Report	Martínez 40' Hundal 45+2' Zadeh 53'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,413 Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

6 May 2023 4	Valour FC	0-0	Halifax Wanderers	Winnipeg, Manitoba
17:00	Samaké 90+1' Gutiérrez 90+4'	Report	Collomb 49' Fernandez 90+1' Lorenzo Callegari 90+3'	Stadium: IG Field Attendance: 2,665 Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren

13 May 2023 5	Cavalry FC	2-2	Halifax Wanderers	Calgary, Alberta
20:00	Musse 19' Bevan 78' (pen.) Bevan 81' Musse 82'	Report	Callegari 20' Collomb 45+1' Fernandez 45+3' Omar 71' Fillion 81' Campagna 87'	Stadium: ATCO Field Attendance: 3,546 Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla

20 May 2023 6	Halifax Wanderers	0-3	York United	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Ferrin 67' Ferrazzo 90+2'	Report	Baldisimo 11' Baldisimo 23' Alou 31' Soumaoro 46'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,244 Referee: Renzo Villanueva

27 May 2023 7	Pacific FC	1-1	Halifax Wanderers	Langford, British Columbia
11:00	Reid 32' Vliet 64'	Report	Daniels 84'	Stadium: Starlight Stadium Attendance: 2,741 Referee: Alain Ruch

3 June 2023 8	Atlético Ottawa	2-0	Halifax Wanderers	Ottawa, Ontario
20:00	Singh 52' Bassett 71' Shaw 76'	Report	Loughrey 23' Ferrazzo 34' Fernandez 82'	Stadium: TD Place Stadium Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

10 June 2023 9	Halifax Wanderers	2-0	Valour FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
14:00	Watson 9' Callegari 43' Watson 52' Fernandez 76'	Report	Gutiérrez 22' Polisi 30' Williams 63' Samaké 64'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 5,524 Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren

17 June 2023 10	Halifax Wanderers	3-1	Cavalry FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Coimbra 6' Callegari 12' Campagna 54' Watson 59' Daniels 62' Collomb 84'	Report	Bevan 8' (pen.) Ntignee 38' Trafford 40' Alarcón 74'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,019 Referee: Michael Venne

21 June 2023 11	York United	2-2	Halifax Wanderers	Toronto, Ontario
20:00	Babouli 14' Gee 43' Santos 56' Santos 57' Gagnon-Laparé 90+7'	Report	Daniels 31' Coimbra 35' Coimbra 48' Daniels 86' Campagna 90+4' Nimick 90+6' Callegari 90+7'	Stadium: York Lions Stadium Attendance: 1,013 Referee: Fabrizio Stasolla

30 June 2023 12	Halifax Wanderers	2-1	Forge FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
19:00	Ferrin 25' Timoteo 35' Giraldo 46' Loughrey 86' Nimick 90+10' (pen.)	Report	Owolabi-Belewu 61' Poku 72' Bekker 88' Henry 90+8' Samuel 90+11'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,145 Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

7 July 2023 13	Vancouver FC	2-1	Halifax Wanderers	Langley, British Columbia
11:00	Bitar 10' Cantave 56' Bitar 70' White 73'	Report	Coimbra 11' Daniels 35' Campagna 68' Omar 73'	Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium Attendance: 2,321 Referee: Robert D'Alesio

11 July 2023 14	Halifax Wanderers	2-1	Pacific FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
20:00	Ferrin 16' Watson 49' Fernandez 56' Fillion 79' Nimick 90+2'	Report	Young 56' 56' Kunle Dada-Luke 59' Đidić 87' Lamothe 90+4'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 5,255 Referee: David Barrie
Note: Game originally scheduled for 19:00, postponed one hour due to excessive rain and flooding.

15 July 2023 15	Cavalry FC	1-0	Halifax Wanderers	Calgary, Alberta
17:00	Nimick 90+1' (o.g.) Ntignee 90+3'	Report	Rampersad 84'	Stadium: ATCO Field Attendance: 3,867 Referee: Alain Ruch

23 July 2023 16	Halifax Wanderers	1-0	Atlético Ottawa	Halifax, Nova Scotia
17:00	Collomb 24'	Report	Haworth 54' Ouimette 71'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 5,884 Referee: Sebastian Noshinravan
Note: Game originally scheduled for 22 July, postponed one day due to excessive rain and flooding.

30 July 2023 17	York United	0-2	Halifax Wanderers	Toronto, Ontario
15:00	Ferrari 49' Ricci 60' Baldisimo 90+2' 90+3' dos Santos 90+5' Thompson 90+7' Giantsopoulos 90+7'	Report	Fernandez 45' Morelli 61' Coimbra 90+6'	Stadium: York Lions Stadium Attendance: N/R Referee: Scott Bowman

7 August 2023 18	Halifax Wanderers	1-2	Pacific FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Loughrey 22' Ferrin 44' Morelli 46' Nimick 79'	Report	Heard 25' Meilleur-Giguère 45+2' Heard 54' Toussaint 83' Yeates 90+8'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,254 Referee: Yusri Rudolf

12 August 2023 19	Halifax Wanderers	3-0	Vancouver FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
16:00	Morelli 5' Morelli 58' (pen.) Rampersad 61' Ferrin 66' Ferrazzo 68'	Report	Bitar 58'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,254 Referee: Ben Hoskins

19 August 2023 20	Forge FC	1-1	Halifax Wanderers	Hamilton, Ontario
20:00	James 28' Badibanga 65' Badibanga 79'	Report	Nimick 29' (pen.) Nimick 58' Fillion 62' Fernandez 73' Coimbra 78'	Stadium: Tim Hortons Field Attendance: 4,824 Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren

26 August 2023 21	Halifax Wanderers	3-0	Valour FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
16:00	Loughrey 10' Nimick 49' Timoteo 54' Morelli 75' Rampersad 76' Giraldo 87' Giraldo 88'	Report	Samaké 5' Cela 31' de Brienne 39' Gutiérrez 78'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 4,907 Referee: Michael Venne

4 September 2023 22	Halifax Wanderers	1-2	York United	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Perruzza 31' Henry 62' Nimick 90+7'	Report	Ricci 45+2' Abatneh 55' Thompson 63' Soumaoro 75' De Rosario 90+4'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,254 Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin

8 September 2023 23	Pacific FC	1-1	Halifax Wanderers	Langford, British Columbia
23:00	Toussaint 45+1' Didic 50' Sellouf 57' (pen.) Amedume 85'	Report	Wilson 45+1' Armaan Wilson 58' Mwandwe 69'	Stadium: Starlight Stadium Attendance: 3,153 Referee: Alain Ruch

12 September 2023 24	Halifax Wanderers	1-2	Cavalry FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
19:00	Ferrazzo 43' Loughrey 52' Coimbra 70' Nimick 79' (pen.) Watson 90+6'	Report	Trafford 3' Henry 27' Kobza 47' Camargo 47' Klomp 54' Kamdem 88' Carducci 90+2'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 5,422 Referee: Yusri Rudolf

18 September 2023 25	Halifax Wanderers	3-2	Atlético Ottawa	Halifax, Nova Scotia
19:00	Ferrin 49' Omar 50' Perruzza 56' Rampersad 74' Fernandez 90+1' Giraldo 90+2' Watson 90+4' Fillion 90+6'	Report	Salter 13', 90+1' Antinoro 53' Roy 90+1'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 5,132 Referee: Renzo Villanueva
Note: Game originally scheduled for 16 September, postponed two days due to impact of Hurricane Lee.

23 September 2023 26	Vancouver FC	2-1	Halifax Wanderers	Langley, British Columbia
17:00	Romeo 37' Fry 50' Bitar 69' Nimick 90+5' (o.g.)	Report	Ferrin 42' Fernandez 47' Loughrey 61' Wilson 90'	Stadium: Langley Events Centre Attendance: 2,099 Referee: Mathieu Souaré

30 September 2023 27	Halifax Wanderers	2-1	Forge FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00	Ferrin 12' Nimick 45+2' Coimbra 58' Timoteo 68' Loughrey 90+3'	Report	Pacius 34' Sissoko 37' Hojabrpour 41' Bekker 85' Rama 87'	Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Attendance: 6,254 Referee: Michael Venne

6 October 2023 28	Valour FC	0-1	Halifax Wanderers	Winnipeg, Manitoba
20:30		Report		Stadium: IG Field

Playoff matches

14 October 2023 Quarter-Final	Halifax Wanderers	0-1	Pacific FC	Halifax, Nova Scotia
15:00		Report		Stadium: Wanderers Grounds Referee: Yusri Rudolf

Canadian Championship

Preliminary round

19 April 2023	Halifax Wanderers	1-3	Atlético Ottawa	Toronto, Ontario
18:00	Ferrin 19'	Report	Shaw 40' Espejo 44' Tissot 85'	Stadium: York Lions Stadium Referee: Myriam Marcotte

[table_hth_FOR0.1463868367236-31] Tie resolved by away goal differential; Forge: +4, Wanderers: −2