There are some golden boots to fill in the nation’s capital this season. Over the past few months, 2023 Canadian Premier League Golden Boot winner Ollie Bassett, and last year’s runner up Rubén del Campo, departed the club — both having scored 11 goals in those respective campaigns. The pair either scored or assisted on 44 per cent of the 80 combined regular season goals Atleti have tallied over the past two seasons, and as such were focal points of the club’s attack. Last Wednesday, Atlético Ottawa added another recent Golden Boot winner to their ranks. Monty Patterson, a 28-year-old New Zealand international, signed with the club following a 2024 campaign with Birkenhead United where he finished tied as the New Zealand National League’s top scorer. That included a goal in the Grand Final, a 2-1 loss to Auckland City. Over the past five years with Auckland United, Manurewa AFC and Birkenhead, Patterson has scored 52 goals in 69 matches in all competitions. Now, he is looking to bring that goalscoring touch to Ottawa. “I followed the [CPL] loosely for the last few years, having friends playing over here, so I already knew, actually, about the club, and Ollie [Bassett] obviously doing really well for a number of years here,” Patterson told CanPL.ca. “So I was really excited about it, and then knowing Drew [Beckie] as well previously, so a lot of things that I was excited about and looking forward to.” Patterson’s connections to the CPL are plentiful. He knows Bassett from the Englishman’s seasons playing in New Zealand. He grew up going to school with former CPL striker Moses Dyer, and played with him on the national team — and the two have remained good friends. Patterson was also briefly teammates with Beckie, now Atlético Ottawa’s Director of Football Development, with the USL’s OKC Energy in 2018 — where he also played alongside Pacific FC’s Marco Bustos, former Valour FC striker Jaime Siaj and former Halifax Wanderer Christian Volesky. Oklahoma City is one of many stops on Patterson’s thrilling footballing journey so far. He started out with Ipswich Town in 2016, scoring an FA Cup goal while on loan with Braintree Town. His career has also brought him to Australia, the United States and Norway.
Between 2016 and 2017, Patterson made 15 appearances for the New Zealand men’s national team. On Oct. 11, 2016, while starting up front alongside current Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood, he scored a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw with the United States in a friendly at RFK Stadium. “I remember in that moment, it felt almost not real, almost like an out of body experience for so many reasons,” said Patterson, later adding “that was something that I’ll never forget.” His time with the national team also brought him to Russia in 2017 for the Confederations Cup. He came off the bench against the hosts, as well as Mexico, with New Zealand also taking on Portugal in their final group game. That meant getting to see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Chicharito and Rafa Márquez, among others, up close. “Just seeing them in person, and how they play, [I tried] to learn some stuff from them, to try to implement it in my game as well,” said Patterson. Since 2020, Patterson has been a star in the New Zealand domestic league. While that has allowed him the opportunity to contribute plenty of goals on the pitch, it also helped him to find purpose off of it. He began coaching and mentoring young players in the area, and through his ‘Coach Monty’ program he was able to provide scholarships for underprivileged local youth, including equipment, training and opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. “It’s been such a rewarding journey for me, the last few years, being back in New Zealand,” said Patterson. “Helping guide young players, or even older ones as well, starting some cool initiatives with that, some scholarship programs and that’s grown into something that’s rewarding for me and everyone involved.” Drew Beckie remembers a young Patterson with the same bleached blonde hair coming to OKC in 2018 carrying a lot of expectations. While it didn’t work out in the USL — Patterson played just three times off the bench that season, scoring once — Beckie said that the then 21-year-old’s quality was undeniable. They kept in touch ever since over social media, and he soon came onto Ottawa’s radar as a potential target. When the opportunity came up to sign Patterson ahead of this season, it was a no-brainer. “I knew immediately his quality would have an impact on this league, seeing some of the players that have come from his league in New Zealand with Ollie [Bassett], and Moses [Dyer] and Myer [Bevan],” said Beckie. “Seeing him firsthand that goes a long way. When you play with somebody… you know when somebody’s good, and I think he could really exceed those respective players — with respect — and have success in this league. I really believe in that, he has such tremendous quality in many areas.” That is no small statement from Beckie. Bassett won the CPL’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards in 2022 while playing for Atlético Ottawa, and followed that up by winning the Golden Boot the following season, an honour he shared with Cavalry FC’s Bevan. Dyer, meanwhile, is one of the most prolific strikers in league history, with his 27 goals putting him sixth all-time. “He’s just multi-dimensional in a way you don’t see from a lot of number nines,” says Beckie. “I wouldn’t say he’s conventional, but he’s like [Ruud] van Nistelrooy in the box, he’s somebody that can connect the play. So he checks off a lot of boxes. He’s strong, and he’s quick, he’s good one-v-one, technically very good. So I’m surprised he’s in this league, in the sense of where he’s at and his quality. “But I think he was kind of finding himself again, and his passion for the game, and so I hope this move here, it reignites [that] and everybody sees his real quality.”
For his part, Patterson is just taking it one step at a time as he integrates into his new club. “It’s just day by day, doing things right, training well, eating well, everything, all the clichés, doing things properly,” said Patterson. “Of course I hope to score as many goals as possible and play as many games, but I know I have to be patient as well and just give everything every single day.” He’s already getting settled into his new city. The snow in the nation’s capital, he says, is like something out of a movie, and he’s quickly added skating on the Rideau Canal to his bucket list. On the pitch, having participated in a few training sessions, Patterson is excited about the ability of the club’s attacking group and how well they have already meshed. For his part, Beckie is enthused by the versatility that Patterson adds to an already dynamic group that can all play multiple attacking positions between the New Zealander, Sam Salter and Ballou Tabla. The attack also boasts Kevin Dos Santos and loanee David Rodriguez — whose signing Beckie thinks has gone a little bit under the radar. This Ottawa team under new head coach Diego Mejía is intent on playing a more attacking and progressive style of football this year. Patterson’s signing is a key piece in that plan. “I know our style of play will be much different than last year, much more exciting,” said Beckie. “And, we’re going to score goals. I think that’s what the people are wanting. That’s what we want. At the end of the day this is entertainment, but it’s a business. We need to win, and we need to score goals. You want to have good defensive games, but maybe if you win a game 5-4 you gain a few fans for the league.”