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

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

Youth and college

Da Luz attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School Soccer Academy in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, 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 College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

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 The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champ ...

Championship team. During his college years da Luz also played for

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the fra ...

in the

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

Professional

Da Luz was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. 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 Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

, topping off the score at 6-5 and helping the

reach the final. He made his professional debut on April 27, 2010, in a U.S. Open Cup game against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

, and made his MLS debut against the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

on May 28, 2011. On June 19, 2011, da Luz scored his first goal for New York and assisted on a

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...

goal in a 3-3 draw with

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 ...

. On July 18, 2011, da Luz was traded to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

for use of an international roster slot for the remainder of 2011. Da Luz signed with NASL club

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

on April 4, 2012, and stayed with the club for two seasons. In 2014, he signed with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

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. He re-signed with Carolina RailHawks after his release by Orlando City. On August 13, 2019, da Luz announced he would retire at the end of the 2019 USL Championship season.

Post-retirement

For the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Rea ...

, da Luz became a color commentator for North Carolina FC television broadcasts.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Da Luz, Austin 1987 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Austin Aztex U23 players D.C. United players Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls draft picks New York Red Bulls players North American Soccer League players North Carolina FC players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Soccer players from North Carolina Sportspeople from Winston-Salem, North Carolina USL Championship players USL League Two players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players