Jonathan Villanueva (born March 30, 1988, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

) is an American former

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 last played for

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

Career

Youth and College

Villanueva grew up in

Grand Prairie, Texas Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it t ...

, and attended

South Grand Prairie High School South Grand Prairie High School (SGPHS) is a public high school in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas, United States. It is part of the 36-campus Grand Prairie Independent School District. History South Grand Prairie High School originally opened ...

, where he was a three-time NSCAA All-American, an adidas ESP Invitee and adidas All-Star, was named to the Parade All-America team as the top midfielder in the country as a senior, and was rated as the nation's top soccer recruit by School Sports Magazine. He subsequently played four years of

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 the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, being named to the ACC All-Freshman Team following his debut season in 2006, to the ACC All-Tournament team as a junior in 2008, and being named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player after leading UVA to the 2009 NCAA College Cup.

Professional

Surprisingly un-drafted out of college, Villanueva turned professional in 2010 when he signed with the

of the

. He made his professional debut on April 24, 2010, in a league match against the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

, and scored his first professional goal on May 21, 2010, also in a game against Charlotte. At the end of the 2010 season, Villaneuva's contract was not renewed.

Personal life

After leaving professional soccer, Villaneuva became a courier for Express Packages from 2010 until 2014. Since 2014, he has been a real estate agent for

Keller Williams Realty Keller Williams Realty (commonly referred to as Keller Williams) is an American technology and international real estate franchise with headquarters in Austin, Texas. It claimed to be the largest real estate franchise in number of agents and sal ...

, and resides in his native,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

References

External links

Virginia bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Jonathan 1988 births Living people American men's soccer players American real estate brokers People from Grand Prairie, Texas Sportspeople from Ellis County, Texas Richmond Kickers players Soccer players from Texas South Grand Prairie High School alumni Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas Sportspeople from Tarrant County, Texas United States men's under-20 international soccer players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players USL Second Division players Men's association football midfielders