Austin da Luz

Austin da Luz
Da Luz with the New York Red Bulls in 2010
Personal information
Full name Austin da Luz
Date of birth (1987-10-09) October 9, 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth San Diego, California, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006−2009 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 80 (13)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008 Austin Aztex U23 6 (3)
2010−2011 New York Red Bulls 7 (1)
2011 D.C. United 14 (0)
2012−2013 Carolina RailHawks 35 (5)
2014 Orlando City 18 (5)
2014−2019 North Carolina FC 131 (16)
Total 211 (30)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 10, 2019

Austin da Luz (born October 9, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player.

Career

Youth and college

Da Luz attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School Soccer Academy in Austin, Texas,[1] where he was exposed to high levels of intensive training and competition on a regular basis and was able to travel and participate in international tournament play. Da Luz played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2006 to 2009 where he appeared in 80 games scoring 13 goals and adding 39 assists. He was a member of Wake Forest's 2007 NCAA College Cup Championship team.

During his college years da Luz also played for Austin Aztex U23 in the USL Premier Development League.[2]

Professional

Da Luz was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by New York Red Bulls.[3] In the semi-finals of the pre-season 2010 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, da Luz scored the winning goal in the penalty kick shoot-out against the Houston Dynamo, topping off the score at 6-5 and helping the New York Red Bulls reach the final.[4]

He made his professional debut on April 27, 2010, in a U.S. Open Cup game against Philadelphia Union,[5] and made his MLS debut against the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 28, 2011.[6] On June 19, 2011, da Luz scored his first goal for New York and assisted on a Thierry Henry goal in a 3–3 draw with Portland Timbers.[7]

On July 18, 2011, da Luz was traded to D.C. United for use of an international roster slot for the remainder of 2011.[8]

Da Luz signed with NASL club Carolina RailHawks on April 4, 2012, and stayed with the club for two seasons. In 2014, he signed with USL Pro side Orlando City. He was released upon the conclusion of the 2014 season, a casualty of the Orlando City's transition to Major League Soccer.[9] He re-signed with Carolina RailHawks after his release by Orlando City.[10]

On August 13, 2019, da Luz announced he would retire at the end of the 2019 USL Championship season.[11]

Post-retirement

For the 2020 USL Championship season, da Luz became a color commentator for North Carolina FC television broadcasts.[12]

Career statistics

As of October 10, 2019
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
New York Red Bulls 2010 Major League Soccer 0 0 1 0 – – 1 0
2011 7 1 2 0 – – 9 1
Totals 7 1 3 0 0 0 10 1
D.C. United 2011 Major League Soccer 14 0 0 0 – – 14 0
Carolina RailHawks 2012 North American Soccer League 19 1 2 0 – – 21 1
2013 17 4 3 1 – – 20 5
Totals 36 5 5 1 0 0 41 6
Orlando City 2014 USL Pro 19 5 2 1 – – 21 6
North Carolina FC 2014 North American Soccer League 6 0 0 0 – – 6 0
2015 20 2 0 0 – – 20 2
2016 30 5 2 0 – – 32 5
2017 27 2 2 0 – – 29 2
2018 USL Championship 31 5 3 1 – – 34 6
2019 17 2 1 0 – – 18 2
Totals 131 16 8 1 0 0 139 17
Career totals 207 27 20 3 0 0 225 30

References

  1. ^ "St. Stephen's Episcopal School: Soccer". Archived from the original on 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  2. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
  3. ^ "2010 MLS SuperDraft". Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
  4. ^ 2010 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic
  5. ^ "USOC: Chinn's brace leads Red Bulls over Union 2-1". 27 April 2010.
  6. ^ "2011-05-28: Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. New York Red Bulls | MLSsoccer.com". Archived from the original on 2011-05-31.
  7. ^ "2011-06-19: Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls | MLSsoccer.com". Archived from the original on 2011-06-23.
  8. ^ "D.C. United acquires Austin da Luz from New York". D.C. United. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. ^ Radcliffe, Jeff (16 September 2014). "13 Orlando City players released as part of Major League Soccer transition". Bright House Sports Network. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  10. ^ "RailHawks Announce Re-signing of Midfielder Austin da Luz". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
  11. ^ "NCFC Captain da Luz to Retire Following 2019 Season". USLChampionship.com. August 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "North Carolina FC Great Austin da Luz to Serve as Color Commentator for NCFC Broadcasts in 2020". North Carolina FC. February 26, 2020.