Juan Leone Cruz (born June 13, 1987) is an American

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 played for

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyr ...

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 ...

Career

College and Amateur

Cruz made a total of 67 appearances for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. The Mustangs were founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texa ...

and finished with nine goals and five assists. Cruz also played 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 ...

for the Austin Lightning, the

DFW Tornados DFW Tornados (also known as Dallas–Fort Worth Tornados) was an American soccer team based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1986, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer P ...

, the

Laredo Heat Laredo Heat is an American soccer team based in Laredo, Texas, United States. Founded in 2004, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They were members of the USL Premier Devel ...

and the

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the fra ...

. Cruz won two PDL National Championships, the first in 2007 (Laredo) and the second in 2013 (Austin).

Professional

On January 13, 2011, Cruz was drafted in the second round (21st overall) of the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. On March 1, 2012, Real Salt Lake signed Cruz to a professional contract. After a NASL championship season with the San Antonio Scorpions, Cruz re-signed with the Aztex on January 29, 2015.

References

External links

*
Real Salt Lake profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Leone 1987 births Living people American soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Association football defenders Austin Aztex players Austin Aztex U23 players Austin Lightning players DFW Tornados players Laredo Heat players North American Soccer League players People from Round Rock, Texas Real Salt Lake players San Antonio Scorpions players Seattle Sounders FC draft picks SMU Mustangs men's soccer players Soccer players from Texas USL Championship players USL League Two players