Christopher Lema (born August 5, 1996) is an American soccer player who most recently played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

USL Championship 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, p ...

side

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

Career

Youth

Lema grew up in Ridgefield, New Jersey and played soccer at Ridgefield Memorial High School. He joined the

New York Red Bulls Academy The New York Red Bulls Academy is the multi-layered youth system of the New York Red Bulls. It is the first cost-free program in Major League Soccer that provides a professional soccer training environment for youth players in the New York Tri-St ...

in 2010. He attended college at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and played on the Hoyas soccer team for four seasons, making 78 appearances, scoring 5 goals and tallying 12 assists. While in college, Lema appeared for Premier Development League side New York Red Bulls U-23.

New York Red Bulls II

On March 15, 2018, Lema signed his first professional contract with

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yor ...

. Lema made his debut with

on April 14, 2018, coming on as a substitute in a 5-0 victory over

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. On July 6, 2018 Lema scored his first goal for New York in a 6-1 victory over

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional ...

. In Lema's first season with New York Red Bulls II he helped the club reach the Eastern Conference Final, falling short to the eventual winners

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

. On July 17, 2019, Lema scored four goals in an 8-1 victory over

. As one of the top players in the league, at the conclusion of the 2019 season Lema was named to the USL Championship All-League Second Team. Lema was released by New York following their 2020 season. On January 14, 2021, Lema signed for

side

Career statistics

References

External links

*
guhoyas.com Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lema, Chris 1996 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Georgetown Hoyas men's soccer players Soccer players from New Jersey People from Ridgefield, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey FC Dallas draft picks New York Red Bulls II players USL Championship players New York Red Bulls players Ridgefield Memorial High School alumni San Antonio FC players