Eric Avila

Eric Avila

Avila with a fan
Personal information
Full name Eric Humberto Avila
Date of birth (1987-11-24) November 24, 1987
Place of birth San Diego, California, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Number 30
Youth career
2002–2003 La Costa Canyon High School
2004–2005 IMG Soccer Academy
2005 Chivas USA
College career
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2007 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 66[1] (15[1])
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2006 San Fernando Valley Quakes 3 (0)
2007 Ventura County Fusion 10 (1)
2008–2011 FC Dallas 63 (3)
2011–2012 Toronto FC 33 (2)
2013–2014 Chivas USA 57 (3)
2015–2016 Santos Laguna 0 (0)
2015 → Orlando City (loan) 21 (1)
2016– Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 (0)
National team‡
2003–2005 United States U17 20 (0)
2006–2007 United States U20 10 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of April 2, 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of September 11, 2014

Eric Humberto Avila (born November 24, 1987) is an American soccer player who currently plays for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.

Career

Youth and college

Avila played club soccer in San Diego, initially for the San Diego Crusaders and later for the La Jolla Nomads, the same club as US National Team players Frankie Hejduk and Steve Cherundolo. With the Nomads, he helped the team to a U.S. Club Soccer National Championship, Disney Showcase tournament championship, and Coast Premier League regular season title.

He attended La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California before entering the US U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida. Avila was also a member of Chivas USA's U-19 club before he enrolled at UC Santa Barbara.[2] Avila was recruited to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara by head coach Tim Vom Steeg.

Avila and the 2006 UCSB Gauchos soccer team honored at the White House.

As a freshman in 2005, he started 21 games while scoring three goals and assisting on five more.[3] For his efforts, Avila was named to the College Soccer News All-Freshman First Team as well as being the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, Avila started 25 games, scoring eight goals to go along with five assists[4] while helping the Gauchos to the 2006 Division I Men's College Cup in St. Louis, Missouri where they won the Division I National Championship over Southern California rivals UCLA Bruins. Avila scored the game-winning goal to give the Gauchos their first-ever national title. He was named to the All-College Cup Team in addition to a spot on the NSCAA/adidas Second Team. In 2007, Avila appeared in 20 games, starting 18 of them. He scored four more goals and added eight.[5]

During his college years, Avila also played in the USL Premier Development League for the San Fernando Valley Quakes and Ventura County Fusion.[6][7]

Professional

FC Dallas

Avila decided to forgo his senior season as professional clubs started to show interest. Avila decided to sign a Generation Adidas contract and he was subsequently drafted in the 2nd Round (19th Overall) by FC Dallas in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.[1]

Avila made his MLS debut for FC Dallas as an 85th-minute substitute against the Houston Dynamo in a 1–1 tie on June 26, 2008.[8] He earned his first MLS career assist on a header by Abe Thompson during stoppage time helping FC Dallas to a 1–1 tie against the Kansas City Wizards on July 4, 2008.[9] and scored his first senior goal on June 20, 2009, in a game against Columbus Crew.[10]

During the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs, he scored the winning goal in the 88th minute to give Dallas a win over Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals, helping the Red Stripes win the series, 3–2, on aggregate as Dallas made its first-ever MLS Cup appearance.

In December 2008, Avila traveled to England with fellow FC Dallas teammates Bruno Guarda, Josh Lambo, and Anthony Wallace along with other Generation Adidas players for friendlies against the reserve squads of Chelsea, Reading, and Aston Villa. He graduated from the MLS Generation Adidas program at the end of the 2010 season.[11] In July 2011 it was announced that Avila had been transferred on a loan to F.C. Atlas for 6 months, but the loan deal fell through.[12]

Toronto FC

On August 2, 2011, FC Dallas traded Avila to Toronto FC for Maicon Santos and an international roster spot (through the remainder of the 2011 season).[13][14] Four days later Avila made his debut for the team against D.C. United in a 3–3 away draw.[15] Avila scored his first goal for Toronto on August 27 in a 1–1 home draw against San Jose Earthquakes.[16] Avila scored his first goal of the 2012 season against Real Salt Lake April 28 in a 3–2 away defeat.[17]

Chivas USA

When Avila's contract expired at the end of the 2012 season he elected to participate in the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. On December 14, 2012, Avila was selected by Colorado Rapids in stage two of the draft.[18] About a month later, Avila was traded to Chivas USA for Nick LaBrocca.[19] Avila has gone to trial with C.D. Guadalajara of the Liga MX on two occasions but the club never signed him. There was also speculation that Santos Laguna were going to sign him but the negotiations seemed to stop.[20]

Orlando City SC

Eric Avila joined Orlando on a loan from Santos Laguna. He scored his first goal May 17, 2015 against Los Angeles Galaxy in which Orlando City SC won 4–0. Avila made 21 appearances for Orlando in 2015, totaling 1,325 minutes of play.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

On February 26, 2016, Avila joined the Tampa Bay Rowdies on a one-year contract with a club option for 2017.[21]

International

Avila entered the US U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida in Fall of 2003.[22] He made his first appearance with US U-17's at the age of 15 against England. He went on to earn 9 international caps with the U-17's, appearing in 15 total matches. The total was the highest of the 1987 boys class. His last appearance came in Spring of 2005.[22]

He helped lead the U.S. to the finals of the Ballymena International Tournament held in Northern Ireland, which he regards as one of his most memorable moments in sports. He also participated in the Mondial Minimes Montaigu Vendee Tournament held in France. In addition to tournaments, he played in a number of matches against Major League Soccer teams, including Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, and Columbus Crew, while scoring the game-tying goal in a friendly against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Career statistics

As of June 27, 2012.
Club performanceLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalTotal
ClubLeagueSeasonAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
United StatesLeagueU.S. Open CupMLS PlayoffsNorth AmericaTotal
FC DallasMLS2008140 ——140
2009181 ——18 1
2010181 21—202
201113110—00141
CanadaLeagueCanadian ChampionshipMLS PlayoffsNorth AmericaTotal
Toronto FCMLS20119100—0091
201224140—20301
Career totalsUnited States6331021 664
Canada332400020392
Career statistics9655021201056

Honors

UC Santa Barbara

FC Dallas

Toronto FC

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Eric Avila Drafted By FC Dallas, Brennan Tennelle Selected By Real Salt Lake in MLS SuperDraft". http://ucsbgauchos.com. January 18, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  2. ↑ Where Are They Now? Former Chivas USA U-19 Player Eric Avila Notches Assists For FC Dallas From http://web.mlsnet.com, Posted September 19, 2008.
  3. ↑ 2005 Cumulative Season Statistics From http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com, Posted November 23, 2005.
  4. ↑ 2006 Cumulative Season Statistics From http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com, Posted December 3, 2006.
  5. ↑ 2007 Cumulative Season Statistics From http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com, Posted December 2, 2007.
  6. ↑ "2006 San Fernando Valley Quakes roster and statistics". http://pdl.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ "2007 Ventura County Fusion roster and statistics". http://www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ Cooper "El Capitan" with header From http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com, Posted June 26, 2008.
  9. ↑ Stoppage-time goal gives FCD draw From http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com, Posted July 4, 2008.
  10. ↑ Columbus Crew v. FC Dallas – June 20, 2009 at the Wayback Machine (archived June 24, 2009)
  11. ↑ "Generation adidas players to graduate at season's end". MLSsoccer.com.
  12. ↑ Drew Epperley. "Eric Avila Loan Deal With Atlas Falls Through". SBNation.com. Vox Media.
  13. ↑ "Toronto Trades For Eric Avila". TorontoFC.ca. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  14. ↑ "FC Dallas trade Eric Avila to Toronto for forward Maicon Santos". FCDallas.com. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Toronto In Tumultuous Draw". Toronto FC.
  16. ↑ "Plata Call, Late Equalizer Robs Toronto". Toronto FC.
  17. ↑ "Reds Suffer Salt Lake Heartbreak". Toronto FC. April 28, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Califf, Casey among 14 picked in Stage 2 Re-Entry Draft". MLSsoccer.com.
  19. ↑ "Chivas continue rebuild, send LaBrocca to COL for Avila". MLSsoccer.com.
  20. ↑ "American Exports: Former Chivas USA, FC Dallas winger Eric Avila on trial with Chivas Guadalajara". MLSsoccer.com.
  21. ↑ "Tampa Bay Rowdies Sign Midfielder Eric Avila". RowdiesSoccer.com. February 26, 2016.
  22. 1 2 U.S. Soccer Residency Overview/All-Time Roster at the Wayback Machine (archived August 28, 2008)

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