Julian Felix Engels (''né'' Büscher; born 22 April 1993) is a German

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 plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Before moving to North America for college, Engels played for

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

SC Preußen Münster SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its football section. The football team currently plays in Regionalliga West which is the fourth tie ...

and

Sportfreunde Lotte VfL Sportfreunde Lotte is a German association football club from Lotte, North Rhine-Westphalia. The football team is part of a sports club with approximately 1400 members and departments for handball, walking, gymnastics, and swimming, as well ...

. He 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 ...

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

and at club level with K–W United, before turning professional with

MLS 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 ...

side

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Engels also played with

LA Galaxy II LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United Sta ...

and

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches at ...

before returning to Germany.

Career

Early career

Prior to playing in the United States, Engels competed for both

and

. In 2014, Engels joined the

Syracuse Orange men's soccer Syracuse Orange is the NCAA college soccer team for Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. They are a Division I (NCAA), Division I team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse Orange, Syracuse fielded its first varsity soccer team in 1920 ...

program. During his freshman year, Engels became an immediate starter for the Orange. There, he earned All-ACC Second Team honors and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. Engels tallied his first collegiate assist on 27 September 2014 in a 1–0 win against the second-ranked

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The assist to

Skylar Thomas Skylar Rutherford Thomas (born July 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional association football, soccer player who plays for Memphis 901 FC, Memphis 901 in the USL Championship. Club career Early career Thomas began playing soccer at age six wit ...

, gave the Orange a 1–0 win against Virginia. Throughout his freshman season, Engels earned a reputation of being a set piece specialist. His assists in subsequent matches against Albany, Bucknell,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and Georgetown led to three game winning matches. Engels returned to Syracuse for his sophomore season where he remain a key cog in the Orange lineup. Engels lead the team in assists and was second on the team in goals scored, en route to the program's first-ever college cup run. Engels played in and started in all 25 matches the Orange played in 2015.

D.C. United

Engels was selected 11th overall in the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

. He made his United debut on 23 February 2016, in a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

quarterfinal match against Queretaro F.C. On 1 March 2016, he scored his first professional goal in the return leg of the Champions League against Queretaro, in a 1–1 draw. Engels made his

debut on 6 March 2016 in a 4–1 loss at

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

, coming on for

Luciano Acosta Luciano Federico "Lucho" Acosta (born 31 May 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. Club career Boca Juniors Acosta made his professional debut for Boca Juni ...

in the 75th minute. He scored his first MLS goal against Orlando City SC for D.C. United on 24 September 2016. On 14 August 2017, Engels was loaned to the

USL 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, p ...

side,

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 ...

for the remainder of the 2017 USL season. On 28 November 2017, his contract option with United was declined.

LA Galaxy II

On 15 March 2018, Engels signed with

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 ...

. He made his debut on 17 March 2018 in a 2–0 loss to the

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E ...

. On 8 August 2018, his contract with

was mutually terminated.

Cavalry FC

On 13 February 2019, Engels signed with

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

club

for the team and league's inaugural season. He scored his first goal for Cavalry FC on 22 May 2019 versus Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship. Engels finished the season with six goals and four assists in all competitions, helping Cavalry finish first in both the spring and fall seasons and qualifying for the

2019 Canadian Premier League Finals The 2019 Canadian Premier League Finals determined the winner of the Canadian Premier League's inaugural 2019 season. It featured Cavalry FC of Calgary, Alberta, and Forge FC of Hamilton, Ontario, and was the culmination of a rivalry that had de ...

. Engels was praised for his performance and listed as one of the best midfielders, and players, in the league.

Back to Germany

On 1 February 2020, Engels returned to Germany, signing with

Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...

side TuS Haltern. Engels left Haltern to join

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its former women's football department won the German national championship in 1975. History ''B ...

in August 2020 on a deal until June 2021. Less than two weeks after signing, he suffered a serious injury, when he tore his

posterior cruciate ligament The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial cond ...

and was set to be out for one year.

Personal life

Engels was born in Soest,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

and grew up in nearby

Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld (district), Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe (river), Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge ...

. In addition to playing for Cavalry FC, Engels coached youth soccer with Calgary Chinooks Soccer Club. In May 2021, he married

Sarah Engels Sarah Engels (born 15 October 1992), known as Sarah Lombardi from 2013 to 2021, is a German pop singer and television personality. She is best known for participating in season 8 of '' Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', where she was eliminated ...

, taking on her maiden name.

Honours

Calvary FC *

Canadian Premier League Finals The Canadian Premier League Finals is the annual championship game of the Canadian Premier League (CPL), the top level of Canadian soccer. As of the 2021 Final, it is played as a single match hosted by the higher seeded team. The winner is award ...

: runners-up

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

(Regular season): Spring 2019, Fall 2019

References

External links

Syracuse Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engels, Julian 1993 births Living people Association football midfielders German footballers Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia People from Dülmen Sportspeople from Münster (region) People from Soest, Germany Sportspeople from Arnsberg (region) German expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States German expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in Canada German expatriate sportspeople in Canada SC Preußen Münster players Sportfreunde Lotte players Syracuse Orange men's soccer players K–W United FC players D.C. United draft picks D.C. United players Rochester New York FC players LA Galaxy II players Cavalry FC players TuS Haltern players Bonner SC players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Canadian Premier League players