Devon Sandoval (born June 16, 1991) 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 who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Early career

The son of Diana and Greg Sandoval and native of Albuquerque, Sandoval attended Eldorado High School in New Mexico, where he played soccer. He continued his education and soccer career at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, but remained there only until his freshman year. He then transferred to the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, where he would spend the remainder of his three college years.

Professional career

Major League Soccer

Sandoval was selected by Real Salt Lake in the second round (29th overall) of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. On March 3, 2013, Sandoval made his professional soccer debut with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

in their opening day game for the

2013 Major League Soccer season The 2013 Major League Soccer season was the 101st season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 35th with a national first-division league, and the 18th season of Major League Soccer. The season featured 19 total clu ...

. He came on as a substitute in the 87th minute for the

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

Álvaro Saborío Álvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón (; born 25 March 1982) is a Costa Rican professional footballer, who plays as a forward and captains Costa Rican club San Carlos from the Primera División de Costa Rica. Saborío originally retired in 2017, b ...

, who scored two goals to lead the club to a 2–0 victory. He scored his first goal for Salt Lake in an away game against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

on May 8, 2013. During a

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

round match against the NASL's (

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

)

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

on May 28, 2013, Sandoval scored an overtime goal, assisted by teammates Javier Morales and Joao Plata to help Real Salt Lake clinch a 3–2 victory and advanced to the fourth round of the tournament. On June 12, 2013, Sandoval scored twice (once in overtime) against the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

to help Real Salt Lake win 5–2 and advance to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. With Alvaro Saborio injured, Sandoval got the start in RSL's home leg against the

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 ...

in the 2013 Western Conference Finals, and scored the team's third goal on an assist from

Robbie Findley Robert Findley (born August 4, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He was capped 11 times by the United States national team, having made his international debut in 2007. Findley played college soc ...

. RSL won the game 4–2. Sandoval was sent on a two-game loan deal to 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 September 10, 2014. On May 22, 2015, Sandoval won MLS Goal of the Week for a goal scored against the Montreal Impact on May 16, 2015. On 13 July 2016, Sandoval was loaned to Rayo OKC, where he played the NASL Autumn Regular Season and Playoffs. Sandoval and Rayo OKC advanced to the NASL semi-finals before losing to the eventual NASL Champions, New York Cosmos. On January 30, 2017, the San Francisco Deltas of the NASL announced Sandoval had signed with the team. On February 15, 2017 Sandoval scored the winning goal in the Delta's pre-season 1–0 win over the MLS San Jose Earthquakes. On November 12, 2017, Sandoval was subbed into the 90th minute in the 2017 NASL finals against the New York Cosmos. Sandoval would go on to score a late goal in stoppage time to put the Deltas up 2–0, over the Cosmos. On March 22, 2018, Sandoval joined

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 ...

of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

New Mexico United

On June 6, 2018, Sandoval was named as the first player to sign with the newly formed USL side

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. History Former teams The state of New Mexic ...

ahead of their inaugural 2019 season. On March 9, 2019, he scored the team's first-ever goal in their opening match against

Fresno FC Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...

. On October 10, 2019, Sandoval was voted the USL Championship Player of the Month for September. Sandoval announced his retirement from professional soccer on January 17, 2023.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
University of New Mexico profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandoval, Devon 1991 births Living people American soccer players San Diego State Aztecs men's soccer players New Mexico Lobos men's soccer players Real Salt Lake players North Carolina FC players Real Monarchs players Rayo OKC players San Francisco Deltas players Association football forwards University of New Mexico alumni Real Salt Lake draft picks Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players USL Championship players Soccer players from Albuquerque, New Mexico New Mexico United players