Lucas Mendes (born December 29, 1997) is an American professional

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 currently plays for Fredericksburg Fire FC in the Major Arena Soccer League 3. Mendes is usually employed as a winger, but can be used as a striker or a central midfielder. Mendes is also owner of National Premier Soccer League club Virginia Dream FC. Mendes won

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

award for boys' soccer in 2016. Mendes won the award while playing for Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia. Outside of playing for the Washington-Lee Generals boys' soccer team, Mendes also played for the

D.C. United Academy The D.C. United Academy is the youth and development program for the Major League Soccer club D.C. United. The program consists of teams at four age levels: the under-23 and under-20 teams, as well as the Academy (U-17, U-16, and U-15). The D.C ...

system.

Career

Youth and college

During Mendes' first three years of high school, he opted to play for D.C. United's academy as opposed to high school soccer, due to a U.S. Soccer ruling prohibiting players from playing both high school soccer and academy soccer. While playing for D.C. United's academy, Mendes tallied 25 goals and 17 assists in 45 matches with the team, which helped him earn NSCAA Club All-American honors in 2015. During his senior year of high school, Mendes opted to play high school soccer, and played for Washington-Lee High School's boys varsity soccer team. During the Spring 2016 season, he tallied 21 goals and had 12 assists with the Generals, helping them win a state championship over

First Colonial High School First Colonial High School is a high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a part of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Demographics The demographic breakdown of the 2,039 students enrolled in 2013-14 was: *Male - 48.7% *Female - 51.3% ...

. Mendes earned 2016 NSCAA High-School All-America honors, and All-USA Boys Soccer First team honors. Mendes was listed as a four-star recruit by

Top Drawer Soccer A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few se ...

, and the 24th best recruit in the nation by College Soccer News. Mendes was recruited to play for the Virginia Cavaliers, considered by many to be one of the most elite collegiate soccer teams in the United States. During Mendes' freshman year with the Cavaliers, he appeared in eight matches, making one start. Mendes did not appear in any more matches during the 2016 season after suffering from mononucleosis. Mendes registered two assists in the inaugural game for Major Arena Soccer League 3 club Fredericksburg Fire FC.

International

Mendes has been part of the United States under-18 and under-20 setups, being part of U.S. U-18 National Team pool in October 2014 and U-20 National Team pool in January 2016. Mendes made his debut for the

United States national arena soccer team The United States National Arena Soccer Team is the indoor soccer team that represents the United States at international competitions. It is affiliated with Confederación Panamericana de Minifutbol (CPM) and the World Minifoo ...

in August 2022 against Mexico.

Honors

Individual

* Gatorade High School National Player of the Year (boys' soccer): 2016 * Virginia High School State Player of the Year: 2016 * NSCAA High School All-American: 2016 * NSCAA Club Soccer All-American: 2015

Washington-Lee Generals

* Virginia 6A State Championship: 2016

References

External links

*
Virginia bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Lucas 1997 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players New York Cosmos B players Richmond Kickers players National Premier Soccer League players Soccer players from Virginia Sportspeople from Arlington County, Virginia USL League One players Washington-Liberty High School alumni Indoor soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players