Mikey_Lopez
Mikey Lopez
American professional soccer player (born 1993)
Miguel Angel "Mikey" Lopez Jr. (born February 20, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for USL Championship club Birmingham Legion.
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miguel Angel Lopez Jr. | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1993-02-20) February 20, 1993 (age 31) | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mission, Texas, United States | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||
Current team | Birmingham Legion | ||||||||||
| Number | 5 | ||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2011–2012 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 46 | (5) | ||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 2011 | Orange County Blue Star | 1 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Sporting Kansas City | 14 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2014 | → Orlando City (loan) | 9 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2014 | → Oklahoma City Energy (loan) | 5 | (2) | ||||||||
| 2015 | → Oklahoma City Energy (loan) | 8 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2016–2017 | New York City FC | 27 | (0) | ||||||||
| 2018 | San Antonio FC | 31 | (3) | ||||||||
| 2019– | Birmingham Legion | 119 | (6) | ||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | United States U20 | 17 | (0) | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 16, 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 6, 2013 | |||||||||||
College and amateur
Born in Dallas, Texas, Lopez attended the St. Stephens Academy in Austin, Texas when he was in seventh grade in order to attract college scouts.[1] Lopez then attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for which he played for the university's soccer team, the North Carolina Tar Heels.[2] While playing with the Tar Heels Lopez led his team to the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship in which the Tar Heels won against the Charlotte 49ers and he was named the ACC Freshman Player of the Year.[1] Overall in two seasons with the Tar Heels, Lopez scored five goals and notched up five assists.[2]
Lopez also made one appearance for USL Premier Development League club Orange County Blue Star in 2011.[3]
Sporting Kansas City
On January 17, 2013 Lopez was selected as the 14th overall draft pick by Sporting Kansas City in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.[2] Lopez made his debut for Sporting KC in a 2-0 win over the Des Moines Menace in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round on May 29, 2013.[4]
Orlando City (loan)
On March 17, 2014 it was announced that Lopez would join Sporting USL Pro affiliate Orlando City on loan for the entire season.[5] He made his debut for Orlando City on April 5, 2014.[6]
OKC Energy (loan)
In early June 2014, Sporting Kansas City transferred Lopez' loan contract to Oklahoma City Energy FC, where he earned immediate playing time.[7]
New York City FC
On January 26, 2016, New York City FC announced the signing of Lopez.[8] He made his debut on March 6, 2016, replacing Tony Taylor in the 69th minute of a 4-3 win over Chicago.[9] Lopez was released by New York at the end of the 2017 season.[10]
San Antonio
On January 26, 2018, Lopez signed with USL side San Antonio FC for the 2018 season.[11]
Birmingham Legion
On November 13, 2018, it was announced that Lopez would join Birmingham Legion ahead of their debut USL Championship season.[12]
Lopez was born in Dallas to Mexican parents.[13] Lopez was first called into the United States U20 national team in February 2013[14] and was a member of the squad that finished second at the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs[lower-alpha 1] | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Orange County Blue Star | 2011 | PDL | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2013 | MLS | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| Orlando City (loan) | 2014 | USL | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| OKC Energy (loan) | 2014 | USL | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | 5 | 2 | |||
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | ||
| New York City FC | 2016 | MLS | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 12 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | ||
| San Antonio FC | 2018 | USL | 31 | 3 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 34 | 4 | ||
| Birmingham Legion | 2019 | USL Championship | 26 | 3 | – | – | – | 26 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 121 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 9 | ||
- Appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs
- Rasmussen, Peter. "Mission's Mikey Lopez headed to MLS". The Monitor. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- Palmer, Tod. "Sporting KC takes midfielder Mikey Lopez in first round of MLS draft". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
- "2011 Orange County Blue Star stats". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- "Mikey Lopez makes debut for Sporting KC". Sportingkc.com. May 29, 2013.
- "ORLANDO RECEIVES SPORTING KANSAS CITY MIDFIELDER MIKEY LOPEZ ON LOAN". Orlando City Soccer Club. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- "Rochester Rhinos at Orlando City SC 1:3". USL Soccer. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- Brannick, Chris (June 10, 2014). "OKC Energy FC gets a boost from Mikey Lopez". Newsok.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
- "Former Sporting KC midfielder Lopez joins NYCFC". Empire of Soccer. January 2023.
- "Chicago Fire 4-3 loss to NYCFC". Chicago-Fire.com. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
- "New York City FC Announce Roster Options for 2018 | New York City FC". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- "SAN ANTONIO FC SIGNS MIDFIELDER MIKEY LOPEZ". San Antonio FC. January 26, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- "Lopez Links Up with Legion FC". USL Championship. November 13, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- "MLS SuperDraft: A day in the life of draft pick Mikey Lopez". January 23, 2013.
- "Mikey Lopez called in for U-20 MNT camp | the Bexar Co. Foot". Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- Mikey Lopez at Soccerway