Kupono Low (born December 27, 1978) is an American former soccer player.

Career

College and amateur

Low attended Irvington High School in Fremont, California, and 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 K ...

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

from 1999–2002, where he was selected for the Pac-10 Men's Soccer All-Conference First Team in 2002. In 2000, also played with the

Central Coast Roadrunners Central Coast Roadrunners were an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2002, after which the team left th ...

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 syst ...

Professional

Low began his professional career with the California Gold in the third division USL Pro Select League in 2003. He moved to the Syracuse Salty Dogs of the

USL A-League 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 ...

in 2004, before signing with Irish side Sligo Rovers, whom he helped win promotion to the Premier Division. He was also a firm fan favorite at Rovers, and in recognition of his performance with the team he was named to eleven-a-side.com's Eircom FAI First Division Team of the Year for 2005. In the spring of 2005, Low returned to the United States and joined the

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due ...

. He played two seasons with the Mariners, but after the team suspended operations in 2007, Low signed with the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

, scoring the first goal in the team's history in their inaugural game. He finished the season as a second team USL-1 All Star and the team's MVP. While still playing for Carolina, the California Cougars of Major Indoor Soccer League drafted Low in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2007 MISL Supplemental Draft; he subsequently played in four games for the Cougars in 2007–2008, during the USL off-season. Low has remained a mainstay in Carolina since signing in 2007. Since then Low has earned All NASL Best 11 Team of the Year in 2011 and Defender of the year in 2012.

International

Despite being born in Hawaii, Low was called up to and made his debut for the

Puerto Rico national football team The Puerto Rico national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international football, and are governed by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (FPF). The team's nickname is ''El Huracá ...

in January 2008, in a friendly match against

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. Low scored his first international goal against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

in January 2008 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Low earned his three caps before the

Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol The Puerto Rican Football Federation ( es, Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol) is the governing body of association football in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1940 and became affiliated to FIFA in 1960, one of the last to do so in the Weste ...

modified its eligibility requirement. All U.S. citizens used to be eligible for Puerto Rico national teams, but now the player pool is restricted to players who have lived on the island for at least two years, meaning that Low is no longer eligible for the Puerto Rico national team per federation rules.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Puerto Rico's goal tally first.''

References

External links

Carolina RailHawks profile

California Cougars profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Kupono 1978 births Living people Puerto Rican footballers Puerto Rico international footballers American expatriate soccer players American soccer players California Cougars players California Gold players North Carolina FC players Central Coast Roadrunners players Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Fresno State Bulldogs men's soccer players League of Ireland players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players North American Soccer League players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Soccer players from Honolulu Syracuse Salty Dogs players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL Second Division players USL League Two players Virginia Beach Mariners players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Association football midfielders