Aaron Molloy (born 11 January 1997) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Charleston Battery in the USL Championship.

Youth and college

Molloy played for the

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

academy for the 2014–15 season, as well as a short season in 2015 where he served as captain. He received the Bohemians U19 player of the year award for the 2014–15 season.

College

After a season with

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

in Ireland, Molloy decided to move to the United States to play college soccer. He played and started in 15 matches as a freshman at Keiser University, recording his first appearance against

Texas Wesleyan Texas Wesleyan University is a private Methodist university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was founded in 1890 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The main campus is located in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Its mascot is ...

on 9 September 2016 and scoring his first goal at St. Thomas on 19 October. Molloy earned Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Conference honors. In his first season at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

, Molloy appeared in 16 matches. He made his Nittany Lions debut against Hofstra on 25 August 2017 and scored his first goal at UC Irvine on 1 September. In his junior season, Molloy was a team captain and appeared in 15 matches. He earned Big Ten preseason honors, All-Big Ten second team and

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

All-North Region third-team. In his senior season, Molloy was again a team captain and appeared in 19 matches.

Club career

The first senior appearance for Molloy was for Irish club Droghead United, where in 2016 he played in 13 matches and scored two goals. After the season, Molloy paused his professional career and went to the United States to play college soccer for Keiser University and

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

. Molloy began playing with the Philadelphia Union’s

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

affiliate

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

in 2016, appearing with the club for three seasons. He was named the PDL Young Player of the Year in 2017. Molloy was invited to the 2020 MLS Combine, and was subsequently drafted by

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

with the 16th pick of the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 ...

. Molloy signed with Portland Timbers 2 in the USL Championship, the club that serves as a reserve squad for the

. Molloy made his Timbers debut on 18 July 2020, starting in a 3–0 loss to Tacoma Defiance. On February 17, 2021, Molloy signed with USL League One club Forward Madison FC. On January 11, 2022, Molloy moved to USL Championship side

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stadiu ...

. He left Memphis following the 2023 season. Molloy signed a multi-year contract with the Charleston Battery in December 2023.

Career statistics

Personal life

Molloy is the son of

Trevor Molloy Trevor Molloy (born 14 April 1977 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional footballer. He played in the League of Ireland for Shamrock Rovers (2 seasons), Athlone Town, St Patrick's Athletic (2 seasons), Bohemians and Shelbourne. He also ...

, a fellow Irish footballer who played for teams in Ireland. Molloy studied for a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation, park, and tourism management from the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State.

Awards

* PDL Young Player of the Year * Big Ten Midfielder of the Year * All-Big Ten first team * All-Big Ten second team * TopDrawerSoccer 2019 Best XI First Team * United Soccer Coaches All-North Region First Team * United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team. * United Soccer Coaches All-North Region third-team member * Sun Conference Freshman of the Year * All-Sun Conference second team * 2x USL Championship All-League First Team:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1290545

References

External links

Portland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Aaron 1997 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football midfielders Bohemian F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Memphis 901 FC players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Reading United AC players Portland Timbers draft picks Portland Timbers 2 players Forward Madison FC players League of Ireland players USL Championship players USL League One players USL League Two players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Charleston Battery players