It's rare to see a student-athlete who is heads and shoulders above the competition. Yet, for three seasons from 2017-2019, George Brown Huskies soccer fans were lucky enough to have a front row seat to watch Filipe Vilela stand out from the rest, game in and game out.
When Vilela became a full-time student at George Brown in 2017, the 6'2 striker didn't think it was in the cards to represent the Huskies Men's Soccer team, but luckily, he was wrong.
"The key reason why I went to George Brown was because of the Electrical Apprenticeship Program. I didn't even know I would be eligible to play since I was doing an apprenticeship, but I was a full-time student, so it made sense," he explained.
Before even coming to George Brown College, Vilela was an elite goal scorer at every level he played. Between 2015 and 2017, in the League1 Ontario semi-professional league, the striker posted 43 goals in 62 games for the Oakville Blue Devils. His best season came in 2015 when he led the league with 20 goals and was named League1 Ontario's MVP and a First-Team All-Star. He was a vital cog in the Blue Devils capturing the Championship in the franchise's first season.
Entering his first game with the Huskies on September 9th, 2017 against Conestoga College, Vilela found the back of the net in the 78th minute to snatch the win. That set the tone for the rest of his rookie campaign. He ended the season being named OCAA Scoring Champion, Central Division All-Star and League Rookie of the Year.
The very next season he seemed unstoppable, putting up 14 goals in nine games. He took home almost every major award including OCAA Player of the Year, OCAA Scoring Champion for the second season in a row, and was again an OCAA All-Star. He was rewarded for his efforts nationally as well, being named a 2018 CCAA All-Canadian. Vilela is only the third Husky to merit this national accolade since the award was established for Men's Soccer in 1988 (N. Ellerton 2008, P. O'Donnell 2007).
In his third and final season, the striker was hampered by a shoulder injury that limited him to only six regular season appearances. However, the now three-time All-Star still logged a team leading 11 goals in only those six games and in turn locked in a 2nd place rank in OCAA league scoring percentage.
Vilela ended his Huskies career with 35 goals in only 23 games, the most goals scored in the OCAA over that period (2017-2019). His incredible scoring prowess also landed him in 5th place in the OCAA records books in the category of all-time Career Scoring Leaders, only three goals shy of the Top 3 (with 3rd place being held by former Husky N. Ellerton 2006-09/12).
In only three seasons of play, Filipe Vilela made a lasting impression on both the George Brown Huskies and the OCAA, etching his name on various awards and in the records books over his collegiate career. But despite the impressive personal resume and possibly being recognized as one of the most dominating Huskies of all-time on the pitch, Vilela remained grateful for his teammates.
"Being a Husky is like having another family. All the boys fought for each other on the field and gave it their all," he explained. "My time representing the Huskies was fun, exciting and an amazing experience."
Vilela's technique on the soccer field which brought him so much success is the same technique he used to hone his craft in the electrical field.
"The apprenticeship program at George Brown College was very fundamental for me to get all the electrical knowledge not just hands-on, but book-wise. I highly recommend it to anyone that's starting the trade." Thanks to his hard work off the field, Vilela is now a licensed electrician and is currently working for Ozz Electric, one of the largest electrical companies in Canada.
Check out all of Vilela and the Men's Soccer team's matches from the 2019 season by visiting the Schedule & Results page.
