Shawn-Claud Nicholas Lawson (born 13 January 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Simcoe County Rovers in League1 Ontario. Born in Canada, he represented Jamaica at youth international level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shawn-Claud Nicholas Lawson | ||
| Date of birth | 13 January 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Scarborough, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Simcoe County Rovers | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2005 | Ajax SC | ||
| 2005 | North Scarborough SC | ||
| 2006–2007 | Feyenoord | ||
| 2007–2009 | Pickering SC | ||
| 2009–2012 | Ajax SC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2015 | Oakland Golden Grizzlies | 78 | (8) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | Detroit City | 12 | (4) |
| 2015 | Des Moines Menace | 8 | (1) |
| 2016 | Michigan Stars | 12 | (2) |
| 2017 | Detroit City | 14 | (7) |
| 2017 | Durham United FA | 4 | (1) |
| 2018 | Detroit City | 12 | (6) |
| 2018 | Darby FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Detroit City | 17 | (13) |
| 2021 | Atlético Ottawa | 8 | (0) |
| 2022– | Simcoe County Rovers | 39 | (13) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011 | Jamaica U17 | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 June 2021 | |||
Early life
Lawson was born in Scarborough, Ontario, the son of former Jamaican national team player Jimmy Lawson.[1][2] As an infant, he had an open heart surgery after the doctors had discovered a leaking valve.[1] Lawson started playing youth soccer at the age of three with Ajax SC.[3] He briefly played for North Scarborough SC and also trained with Dutch club Feyenoord's academy in 2006 and 2007.[4] He later played for Pickering FC, where he was invited to attend trainings with English clubs Luton Town and Birmingham FC after attending a soccer camp led by Canada national team player Paul Peschisolido.[5] He was part of the U15 Ontario provincial program.[3] Afterwards, he returned to Ajax SC helping lead them to the 2011 Canada national U-18 championship, in which he scored the game-winning goal.[3]
College career
In 2012, he began attending Oakland University, playing for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on a scholarship, after having interest from Clemson, North Carolina, Bucknell, Harvard, Colgate, Michigan, and the University of Cincinnati.[3] He scored 8 goals in 78 appearances and won back-to-back Horizon League titles in 2014 and 2015.[6]
Club career
In 2013, during the college off-season, he joined NPSL club Detroit City FC.[7][8] He played 19 total matches between 2013 and 2014.[9] He scored the 2014 NPSL Goal of the Year.[10]
In 2015, he joined PDL club Des Moines Menace, scoring his first goal and collecting his first assist on June 26 against the Springfield Synergy FC.[11][12]
In 2016, he played for NPSL club Michigan Stars FC.
For the 2017 season, he re-joined Detroit City, leading them in scoring in 2017 with nine goals across all compeititons,[13] also winning the NPSA Northwest Region Championship in 2017.[14]
After the NPSL season, he joined Durham United FA in League1 Ontario.[15]
The next year, he again returned to Detroit City, where he led the team in scoring in 2018 once again with eight goals across all compeititions.[16] He also had a training stint with USL club Ottawa Fury FC in 2018.[17]
In late 2018, Lawson played for League1 Ontario side Darby FC, making three appearances in August and September of that year.[18]
He returned to Detroit City in 2019. On July 7, he scored a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over AFC Ann Arbor.[19] He scored another hat trick on August 6 in the club's annual cross-border exhibition against Canadian club Windsor TFC.[20] In 2019, he set the club record with 19 goals in a single season, being named the DCFC Black Arrow Award winner as team MVP.[21] With the club, he won the NISA Fall Tournament Championship.[14] He departed the club after the 2020 season as the club's all-time leading scorer with 51 goals across all competitions.[14]
On 29 April 2021, Lawson returned to Canada, signing with Canadian Premier League side Atlético Ottawa.[22] After the season, Ottawa elected not to exercise its contract option on Lawson.[23]
In February 2022, Lawson signed with Simcoe County Rovers of League1 Ontario.[17] He scored six goals, appearing in all 21 of the team's regular season matches and two playoff appearances in 2022.[24] After winning the league championship with the team in 2023, he re-signed for the 2024 season.[25]
International career
He first joined the Jamaica in 2010,[1] later playing for them at the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, making two appearances in the group stage against Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, and a third appearance in the third-place match against the Panama.[26] He was subsequently called up for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he made one appearance against Japan.[26]
References
External links
- Shawn-Claud Lawson at Soccerway