Lucas Rodríguez (born February 8, 1986, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

former professional

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 lea ...

who is currently an assistant coach with the

Kansas City Current The Kansas City Current are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded as an NWSL expansion, expansion team in 2021 NWSL ...

in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

Career

College and amateur

Rodríguez spent his early childhood up in his native Argentina, before coming to the United States when he was 14 years old, settling in

Lenexa, Kansas Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. making it the ninth-most populated city in Kansas. It is bordered by the ...

, and played in this time for the KC Pace soccer club. He attended

Shawnee Mission Northwest High School Shawnee Mission Northwest High School is a fully accredited public high school located in Shawnee, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is one of five high schools operated by Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district. The ...

, and after attending Johnson County Community College for two years, moved to

MidAmerica Nazarene University MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a private Nazarene (evangelical Christian) university in Olathe, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1966. History Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC) was founded in 1966. In 1996 Mid-America Na ...

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...

. He played two more years of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at Mid America Nazarene, where in his senior year Rodríguez led his team to the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship while being named the most valuable player, and garnering first- and third-team All-America honors. During his college years Rodríguez also played with Kansas City Brass in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

Professional

Undrafted out of college, Rodríguez signed his first professional contract in 2010 when he was signed by the

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Banking and investment * National Sort Code, an Irish bank code * Nomura Securities Co, an investment bank Computing * National Software Centre, an Irish organization * National Supercomputer Centre in Sweden * NetShow Cha ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

in May. He made his professional debut on July 14, 2010, in a game against AC St. Louis, and scored his first professional goal on September 24, 2010, in Minnesota's last regular season game of the 2010 season, a 3–1 win over FC Tampa Bay. Rodríguez signed with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the 2010–2011 season. He played in 17 games scoring six goals and seven assists. His play was good enough to earn him the MISL Rookie of the Year award. He signed with

Jacksonville Armada FC Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were founded in 2013 as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of American soccer, and played unt ...

on October 23, 2014. Rodriguez was released by Jacksonville in November 2015. Rodríguez returned to the Kansas City Comets of the new

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

(MASL) for the 2016–17 season. He announced his retirement in December 2020.

Coaching

Rodríguez joined the coaching staff of

club

in January 2021, ahead of their inaugural season. He was retained by the Current for the 2022 NWSL season.

References

External links

Minnesota Stars bio

MASL bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez, Lucas 1986 births Living people Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Kansas City Brass players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Kansas City Comets (2010–) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Jacksonville Armada FC players Johnson County Community College people People from Lenexa, Kansas Soccer players from Johnson County, Kansas Men's association football midfielders Major Arena Soccer League players Kansas City Current non-playing staff Footballers from Buenos Aires 21st-century Argentine sportsmen