Ike Opara
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ikenna Martin Opara[1] | ||
| Date of birth | February 21, 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Durham, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sporting Kansas City | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2009 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2008–2009 | Cary Clarets | 13 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | San Jose Earthquakes | 35 | (3) |
| 2013– | Sporting Kansas City | 17 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009 | United States U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 2012 | United States U23 | 4 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 23, 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Ikenna Martin "Ike" Opara (born February 21, 1989 in Durham, North Carolina) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer.
Career
College and amateur
Opara played college soccer at Wake Forest University from 2007 to 2009 where he appeared in 65 games scoring nine goals and adding three assists. He was a member of Wake Forest's 2007 NCAA College Cup Championship team. He was named ACC Defensive Player of the year in 2008 and 2009.
During his college years Opara also played two seasons for Cary Clarets[2] in the USL Premier Development League.[3][4]
Professional
Opara was drafted in the first round (3rd overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by San Jose Earthquakes.[5]
He made his professional debut on March 27, 2010, in San Jose's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against Real Salt Lake,[6] and scored his first professional career goal - an away match winner - against Chicago Fire on April 10, 2010.[7]
Opara was traded to Sporting Kansas City from San Jose on December 12, 2012 for Kansas City's natural second round selection in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. [8]
See also
- List of current MLS players
References
- ↑ "List of Players — 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ↑ The clubs was known as the Cary RailHawks U23's in 2008
- ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2008/roster/6188469.html
- ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2009/roster/6188469.html
- ↑ 2010 MLS SuperDraft
- ↑ CBC News http://stats.cbc.ca/mls/boxscore.asp?gamecode=2010032711&season=2010-1
|url=missing title (help). - ↑ http://www.sjearthquakes.com/news/2010/04/rookie-opara-scores-first-mls-goal
- ↑ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/12/12/sporting-kansas-city-swap-draft-pick-defender-opara
External links
- MLS player profile
- Ike Opara – FIFA competition record
| |||||