Mauricio Pineda (born October 17, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a

defensive 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 boundari ...

for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.

Club career

College and youth

Pineda was part of the Chicago Fire academy, before attending the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, where 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 K ...

from 2016 to 2019, making 79 appearances, scoring 17 goals and tallying 8 assists. While at college, Pineda also appeared for

USL League Two 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 ...

sides

Tobacco Road FC Tobacco Road Football Club is an American soccer team based in Durham, North Carolina. The team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club existed under various names as a highly successful amateur ...

and

North Carolina FC U23 North Carolina FC U23 is an American soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded in 2002 as the Raleigh Elite, and the current affiliate of North Carolina FC, a third division club in the United Soccer League. The team plays in ...

Chicago Fire

On January 17, 2020, Pineda signed a one-year contract with Chicago Fire as a Homegrown Player, with options for a further three seasons. Pineda made his professional debut on March 1, 2020, starting in a 2–1 loss to

Seattle Sounders 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 ...

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...

. On July 14, 2020 Pineda earned his first assist and scored his first professional goal for the Fire, also against Seattle in the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League Soccer teams, 24 participated in the tourna ...

. The Fire won 2–1 with Pineda's goal the game-winner. The following day he signed a contract for the club until 2021.

International career

In December 2020 after his first professional season in MLS, Pineda was called up to the United States national team, the first call up he'd received at any age level. Pineda was named to the final 20-player United States under-23 roster for the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's ...

in March 2021.

Career statistics

Club

Personal

Born in the United States, Pineda is of Mexican descent. He is the younger brother of former soccer player Victor Pineda, who also played for Chicago Fire.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pineda, Mauricio 1997 births Living people American soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Association football midfielders North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Tobacco Road FC players North Carolina FC U23 players Chicago Fire FC players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Illinois People from Bolingbrook, Illinois Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois USL League Two players Homegrown Players (MLS) United States men's under-23 international soccer players Association football defenders