Jonathan Fabian Mendoza Valenzuela (born January 26, 1990) is a Colombian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently plays for the Rome Gladiators in the

National Indoor Soccer League The National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) is an indoor soccer league that began play in 2021 and is based in the Southeast United States. The league fields men's and women's divisions. On March 24, 2021, the league announced its partnership with N ...

Career

College and amateur

Mendoza was born in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, but moved to Altamonte Springs, graduating from Lyman High School in 2009. During his senior year in high school, he was second-team All-American, and first-team All-Central Florida, according to

ESPN RISE ''ESPN HS'' was a high school sports magazine published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased b ...

. He accepted a scholarship offer from

Stetson Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, in particular, in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous hats when he ...

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in central Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 ...

, where he started most of his career. He totaled 18 goals and 22 assists in 68 matches (57 starts). He was the 2011

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisi ...

Player of the Year in men's soccer after scoring 11 goals that season. In addition to Stetson, he played with

Orlando City U-23 Orlando City U-23 was an American soccer team based in Lake Mary, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southeast Division of the So ...

(and Central Florida Kraze before that) in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. He led the U-23 Lions to the Southeast Division and Southern Conference titles in 2012.

Professional

Mendoza made himself available for the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draft, ...

, but went undrafted. He was signed to

Orlando City Soccer Club Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

on March 1, 2013. After the 2013 season, he was released by Orlando City and signed with the

Rochester Rhinos 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 to ...

, thereby staying in the

USL Pro 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, pl ...

References

NISL profile
1990 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Stetson Hatters men's soccer players Orlando City U-23 players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Rochester New York FC players Orlando City B players USL League Two players USL Championship players Colombian emigrants to the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States American sportspeople of Colombian descent Men's association football midfielders Major Arena Soccer League players Penn FC players Orlando SeaWolves players Soccer players from Orlando, Florida Footballers from Bogotá {{colombia-footy-midfielder-stub