Patrice Gheisar’s Scrosoppi side are sitting at the top of the Men’s Ontario Premier League 1 standings following four wins from five matches.

There have been several stars registering strong showings in black, white, and gold shirts, from the league’s top scorer Lowell Wright to returning cup hero Luka Juricic.

Between the sticks, meanwhile, former York United goalkeeper Matthew Nogueira has established himself as the number one pick having played all six of Scrosoppi’s games in all competitions this season.

Although the 2026 signing was born in Toronto, much of his playing pedigree hails from the European game having spent several impressionable years in Portugal.

“Playing overseas taught me a lot,” he said. “During my youth career I spent my time at Benfica for three years, where I got the opportunity to train with and be on the same team as Rúben Dias, Renato Sanches, the list can go on.

“But the biggest takeaway I had from my youth experience there was the discipline and hunger that these players had at such a young age. I left at 13 years old to go to Portugal to play, and when I arrived there, it was a whole new reality of players making this their number one priority.

“How they ate, the time they would go to sleep, arriving early to training; these are 14-year-olds that are going to the gym already to prepare themselves for training. It really showed the maturity levels that these young kids had for the sport.”

But Nogueira soon found out that skill, fitness, and discipline are not enough alone. Soccer is an industry that can throw curveballs at any second, so as a young goalkeeper he needed to learn how to be adaptable – and quickly.

“You can be on one overseas team at one moment, and the next moment you have got to go somewhere else, so I learned how to adapt.

“From Benfica I went to Toronto FC, and from there I returned to Portugal where ultimately I played for Gil Vicente. After that season, unfortunately – but fortunately now looking back – I went to the third division.

“For anybody who doesn’t know the third division in Portugal, it isn’t fun, but it may be necessary for some players to grow. It taught me that as long as you keep the mindset of your number one goal being to get to the top level, it doesn’t matter what lower tier you are in at that moment, you can still make it to the top level as long as you stay disciplined.

“After one season in the third division, I was called up to sign my first professional contract for a team in Portugal called Marítimo and they were in the first division.”

After making his professional debut at 20 years old, Nogueira was called up to the Canadian U23 Men’s National Team ahead of qualification matches for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It was a gratifying moment for the goalkeeper.

“It really taught me to stay mentally strong, not to put my head down, even in the lows; or to not have my head too high in good moments. Have an even keel mind, staying focused on the next objective ahead.

“In football, a lot of things can change in a heartbeat, you could be one place in one moment and somewhere else the next moment, but you need to keep that even mind and that work ethic to continue growing as a player and most importantly as a human being.”