Nelson Pizarro (born July 8, 1985) 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 is currently a coach with the San Diego Surf Academy.

Career

College and amateur

Pizarro 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 Kingd ...

for Lincoln Memorial University. His style of attacking football was adored by fans. The reason for this is growing up Nelson never played 11 aside soccer instead learning the game at his family's indoor and 5 aside facility in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He played with adults at a very young age and became a very technically gifted player with strength to match. He regularly scored goals in big matches and could be utilized by the coaching staff in many positions including central defence and as a wide midfielder or full back. However, his most effective position is an attacking midfielder due to his technical ability and effective runs into the box. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

at Lincoln he won several awards including a

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the Mid ...

Championship. In his upperclassman career he won more awards including All-American honors as he captained the team to not only another conference championship, this time the

South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...

, but two regional championships, a final four berth in 2006 and in his last game at the University the National Championship final against

Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional development, professional preparation. The scho ...

in 2007. During his college years, Pizarro 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 Ventura County Fusion,

Professional

Pizarro was signed to a developmental contract by

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

on April 30, 2008 after impressing head coach Curt Onalfo and GM Peter Vermes during a two-day open tryout . He made his full professional debut for the Wizards on 8 July 2008, in a US Open Cup quarterfinal game against the Seattle Sounders. He was released by the Wizards in May 2010. He later signed midway through the season with USL-1 side Miami FC, and played the remainder of the season for the Blues. Having been unable to sign with a professional club elsewhere, Pizarro moved to California to play an exhibition season with the reborn San Diego Flash in 2011, in preparation for their return to full competition in 2011.

References

External links

Miami FC bioMLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizarro, Nelson American men's soccer players Sporting Kansas City players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) players Ventura County Fusion players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players 1985 births Living people USL League Two players Lincoln Memorial University alumni People from Pembroke Pines, Florida Soccer players from Florida USL Championship players Orange County SC players Men's association football midfielders