Vital Zina Kats (Hebrew: ויטאל זינה קאטס; born 18 November 1999) is an Israeli footballer who plays as a midfielder for Kiryat Gat in the Israeli Ligat Nashim and the Israel women's national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vital Zina Kats[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 November 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Netanya, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kiryat Gat | ||
| Youth career | |||
| El Salvador SC | |||
| Unionville Milliken SC | |||
| Scarborough GS United | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Kent State Golden Flashes | 58 | (22) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | ProStars FC | (3) | |
| 2016 | Aurora United FC | 2 | (2) |
| 2018–2019 | DeRo United FC | 10 | (2) |
| 2021–2022 | Glasgow City | 7 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | SC Braga | 6 | (1) |
| 2023 | → SC Braga B | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Kiryat Gat | 12 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | Canada U17 | 8 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Canada U20 | 4 | (1) |
| 2020– | Israel | 12 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 April 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 July 2024 | |||
Early life
editBorn in Israel, Kats moved to Toronto, Canada at the age of seven. She began playing soccer at the age of 9 with El Salvador SC in Toronto, before later playing with Unionville Milliken SC and Scarborough GS United.[2] With GS United, she won the 2016 Ontario Cup as women's provincial amateur champions.[3]
College career
editIn 2017, she began attending Kent State University, where she played for the women's soccer team. She scored a goal in her debut on August 20, 2017 against the Cleveland State Vikings.[4] As a freshman in 2017, Kats led all MAC freshmen in scoring with six goals and four assists, also leading the team in scoring.[5] She was named the MAC Freshman of The Year, and was named to the All-MAC Second Team, MAC All-Freshman Team, First Team All-Ohio, and USC All-Midwest Region Second Team.[6] In 2018, she once again led the team in scoring and was named to the USC All-Midwest Region First Team, All-MAC First Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team, OCSA All-Ohio First Team, and was a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC.[6] In 2019, she was named to the USC All-Midwest Region Third Team, All-MAC First Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team, OCSA All-Ohio First Team, and was a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-MAC.[6] During the Spring 2021 season (delayed from the 2020 Fall), she was named a All-MAC Second Team, CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, and Academic All-MAC.[6][7]
Club career
editIn 2015, she briefly played with ProStars FC in League1 Ontario,[8] with whom she scored 3 goals.[9]
In 2016, she played with Aurora United FC in League1 Ontario, making two appearances.[10] She scored two goals in her debut on August 13 against Durham United FA.[11] She was a finalist for the Goal of the Year award.[12]
In 2018 and 2019, she played with DeRo United FC.[13][14] She scored her first goal for DeRo United in a League Cup victory on June 24 against North Mississauga SC.[15] She scored her first league goal on July 8 against Toronto Azzurri Blizzard.[16]
In August 2021, Kats signed her first professional contract with Scottish Women's Premier League side Glasgow City F.C.[17][18][19][20] She scored her first goal for the club on August 18, 2021 during a 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying match against Maltese club Birkirkara.[21] She departed the club after the season.[22]
In July 2022, she joined Portuguese club S.C. Braga in the Campeonato Nacional Feminino.[23] She made her debut for Braga in the Supertaça de Portugal semi-finals against Benfica on 10 August, coming on as a substitute.[24]
International career
editIn 2014, Kats attended a training camp with the Canada U15 team for her Canadian youth program debut.[2] In December 2015, she won a silver medal with the Canada U20 at the 2015 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship,[2] where she scored in her debut in a 7-0 victory over Jamaica U20 on December 6.[25] In 2016, she played with the Canada U17 at the 2016 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, where they finished third, and the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup,[26] and also played in the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[2]
She made her senior debut for Israel on 21 October 2020 during the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying.[27]
International goals
edit| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 September 2023 | Tamme Stadium, Tartu, Estonia |  Estonia |
4–0 | 5–0 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League |
| 2. | 9 April 2024 | Ménfői úti Stadion, Győr, Hungary |  Serbia |
1–1 | 2–4 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying |
Personal life
editKats' parents were born in Minsk, Soviet Union (now Belarus)[2] and, being Jewish, made aliyah to Israel, where she was born.
References
edit- ^ Vital Kats at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Vital Kats at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ "Scarborough GS win fourth straight women's Ontario Cup". Ontario Soccer Association. 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Soccer Bested by Cleveland State 2-1 in Home Opener". Kent State Golden Flashes. 20 August 2017.
- ^ Moff, Allen (5 November 2017). "Six Kent State women's soccer stars earn All-MAC honors". Record-Courier.
- ^ a b c d "Vital Kats Kent State profile". Kent State Golden Flashes.
- ^ "Kats Named Academic All-American". Kent State Golden Flashes. 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Three League1 Ontario Players Called To Canada U20 Women's Team". League1 Ontario. 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Scoring leaders". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Vital Kats 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Vital Kats Brace Helps Aurora Topple Durham 4-1". League1 Ontario. 14 August 2016.
- ^ Glover, Robin (28 November 2016). "League1 Ontario 2016 Awards Luncheon". Northern Starting XI. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Vital Kats 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Vital Kats 2019 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Cerjanec, Robert (25 June 2018). "Sribny, Kats And Norman-Minnis Goals Send DeRo To L1 Cup Semis". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Whyte, Kacian (9 July 2018). "Kirton And Kats Carry DeRo To 3-1 Win Over Blizzard". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Glasgow City welcome Vital Kats". Glasgow City F.C. 5 August 2021.
- ^ Falk, Graham (5 August 2021). "Vital Kats: Glasgow City confirm signing of Israeli international". The Scotsman.
- ^ Frith, Wilf (5 August 2021). "Glasgow City sign Vital Kats". She Kicks.
- ^ "Vital Kats: SWPL1 champions Glasgow City sign Israel midfielder". BBC Sport. 5 August 2021.
- ^ "Glasgow City 3-0 Birkirkara: Hosts ease to victory in Women's Champions League qualifier". Ghana SoccerNet. 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Glasgow City FC: Squad update". Glasgow City F.C. 17 June 2022.
- ^ "Início de pré-época" [Pre-season start]. SC Braga (in Portuguese). 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Derrota no Benfica Campus" [Defeat at Benfica Campus]. SC Braga. 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Canada routs Jamaica at CONCACAF women's U20". Sportsnet. 6 December 2015.
- ^ Gallo, Anthony (31 December 2016). "Forty-Nine League1 Players (Incl. Alumni) Represented Canada In 2016". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Vital Kats". Senior CLASS Award.
External links
edit- Vital Kats — Israeli Football Association national team player details (in Hebrew)
- Vital Kats at Soccerway
- Vital Kats Stats at Playmaker Stats