Jacob Akanyirige (born December 30, 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 who plays as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

New England Revolution II New England Revolution II is a professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer c ...

in MLS Next Pro.

Career

Youth

Akanyirige played for Pleasanton, CA's Ballistic United SC during the 2015–2016 season for their U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy's Under 13/14 team. In 2016–2017, he joined San Jose's U-15 squad and quickly moved up the academy ranks. After making one appearance for the U-17 side in 2017–18, he moved up to the U-19s and was competing against players two and three years older than him. Akanyirige's birthday makes him a unique prospect for the youth national teams as he is two days too old to play with the 2002 cycle and is the youngest, or among the youngest, in 2001.

Professional

San Jose Earthquakes

Akanyirige signed as San Jose's fourth ever Homegrown Player on December 15, 2017. At the time of his signing, he was the youngest player to sign for the Earthquakes as well as third-youngest player in MLS, and the eighth-youngest to ever sign a professional contract in MLS history. Following the 2021 season, San Jose declined their contract option on Akanyirige.

Rochester NY FC

Akanyirige Signed with

Rochester New York FC Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

on April 2, 2022, on a free transfer. Akanyridge debuted for Rochester during an

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

match against FC Motown. Akanyirige scored his first professional goal on 5/14/22 in a match against

Inter Miami II Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Febr ...

International career

Born in the United States, Akanyirige is of Ghanaian descent. He is a youth international for the United States.

Career statistics

;Notes

References

External links

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Jacob Aknayirige
at MLS Next Pro 2001 births Living people American sportspeople of Ghanaian descent American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Men's association football defenders Homegrown Players (MLS) Sportspeople from Pleasanton, California Soccer players from Alameda County, California Reno 1868 FC players Rochester New York FC players San Jose Earthquakes players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players New England Revolution II players United States men's under-20 international soccer players {{US-footy-defender-stub