Ethan Christopher Finlay (born August 6, 1990) 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 who plays as a
winger for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club
Austin FC
Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...
.
Career
College and amateur
Born in
Duluth, Minnesota
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
, Finlay's family moved across the U.S. during his childhood and he grew up in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
where he played high school soccer for
Marshfield, Wisconsin
Marshfield is a city in northwest Wood and southwest Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10, Highway 13 and Highway 97. The largest city in Wood County, its population was 18,929 at t ...
as well as youth soccer for FC Milwaukee.
Finlay 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 ...
at
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
between 2008 and 2011. Ethan finished his career in the top 5 all time in Bluejay scoring, and leading the Bluejays to the 2011 NCAA Final Four in Alabama. During his time at Creighton, Finlay was a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy finalist (3), finishing second in the voting for College Soccer's player of the Year award in 2012, the first ever player from Wisconsin to be a finalist for college soccer's most prestigious honor. Finlay was a NSCAA All-American First Team 2011, NSCA Academic National player of the Year 2011, College Soccer News All-American First Team 2011 and was Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011. Finlay was elected as the Fred Ware Award winner in 2011 as Nebraska's College Athlete of the Year.
Professional
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
selected Finlay in the first round (No. 10 overall) of the
2012 MLS SuperDraft
The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...
. Finlay made his debut during a 2–0 loss at
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...
, coming on as a first-half substitute for the injured
Dilly Duka
Dilaver "Dilly" Duka (born on September 15, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for FC Motown in the National Premier Soccer League.
Career Youth and college
Duka grew up in Montville, New Jersey, to an Alb ...
in the 12th minute on March 10, 2012. Ethan scored his first MLS goal vs the Portland Timbers in a 3–3 tie in May 2014.
Finlay had a breakout year in the
2015 Major League Soccer season
The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS ...
, finishing the season with 10 goals and 13 assists
On August 9, 2017, Finlay was traded to
Minnesota United
Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...
in exchange for $100,000 in Targeted Allocation Money for the 2017
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
season, $250,000 in Target Allocation Money for the 2018 MLS season and $75,000 in General Allocation Money for the 2018 MLS season.
On December 20, 2021, Finlay signed as a free agent on two-year deal
Austin FC
Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...
.
[ ]
International
Finlay made his international debut for the United States men's national soccer team on January 31, 2016, in an international friendly against Iceland. In his second game with United States men's national soccer team, Finlay recorded an assist on the USA's game-winning goal against Canada. Finlay was eligible to represent the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, his country of birth, or
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, through his Canadian father.
He was
cap-tied
Cap-tied is an adjective, used primarily in association football, to describe a player who has represented a senior national football team in more than three games (including at least one competitive game) and as a result is unable to represent a ...
for the United States in the March 29, 2016,
qualifier
In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...
versus
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Ethan
1990 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Duluth, Minnesota
People from Marshfield, Wisconsin
All-American men's college soccer players
American people of Canadian descent
American soccer players
Austin FC players
Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players
Chicago Fire U-23 players
Columbus Crew players
Minnesota United FC players
Association football forwards
Soccer players from Wisconsin
Columbus Crew draft picks
USL League Two players
Major League Soccer players
Major League Soccer All-Stars
United States men's international soccer players