Azriel González (born May 24, 2001) is an American 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 for
Spokane Velocity in the
USL League One.
Early life
González has been with the
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
academy since 2015 when he was 13. In 2016, González's first full season in the academy, González scored 12 goals and 6 assists in 18 matches with the U-16s.
In that same season, the team won the Youdan Trophy, a tournament held in
Sheffield, England, with González earning Golden Boot honors after scoring five goals and two assists in five matches.
Club career
On April 25, 2017, González made his debut for
USL club
Seattle Sounders FC 2 (later renamed Tacoma Defiance) in a 3–2 defeat to
San Antonio FC. He was subbed in at the 71st minute but was sent off after receiving a straight red card for a two-footed, sliding challenge in stoppage time. On June 3, 2017, he logged his first assist, the game-winning goal, in a 3–0 victory over
LA Galaxy II. On July 17, 2017, he officially signed with Sounders FC 2, moving from the Seattle Sounders FC's academy to their USL team, and became the youngest player in club history to sign a professional contract.
On July 20, 2017, González made his first professional start, playing the full 90 minutes, in a 2–0 defeat to
Swope Park Rangers. On July 23, 2017, after making his second professional start, he was substituted off in the 43rd minute after he sustained a right lateral ankle sprain.
The 2017 season marked the first time that González had trained with Sounders' first team. González spent time with the first team during its preseason, training in
Seattle and traveling with the team to
Tucson, Arizona for preseason friendlies. He again joined the Sounders' first team with preseason training in
Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...
before the start of the 2018 season with a number of other academy players.
On August 11, 2021, he joined
FC Edmonton of the
Canadian Premier League on loan.
In April 2022, González signed with
York United
York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium.
History ...
on a one-year contract, with club options, and was immediately loaned to
FC Edmonton. In December 2022, York United declined González's option for 2023.
González was announced as a new signing for USL Championship side
Las Vegas Lights
Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field.
The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...
on January 25, 2023.
On May 24, 2024, González signed with
USL League One side
Spokane Velocity for the remainder of the season.
International career
González has represented the United States a number of times playing at the U-16 level.
[
]
Style of play
A quick, skillful and creative player, González is capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is usually deployed as a winger or as an attacking midfielder, and has even been used as a lone striker.[ When describing himself, he stated, "I'm a player that tries to take players on and am confident with the ball".]
Notes
References
External links
US Soccer Development Academy bio
*
Sounders FC player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Azriel
2001 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
Men's association football midfielders
Soccer players from Las Vegas
American sportspeople of Mexican descent
USL Championship players
Canadian Premier League players
Tacoma Defiance players
FC Edmonton players
York United FC players
Las Vegas Lights FC players
Spokane Velocity players
American expatriate men's soccer players
American expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
21st-century American sportsmen