Nicholas Lima (born November 17, 1994) 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 plays as a
defender for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
.
Career
College and amateur
Lima played four years of
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 ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
between 2013 and 2016. While at college, Lima also appeared for
USL PDL
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 ...
side
Burlingame Dragons
Burlingame Dragons FC was an American soccer club based in Burlingame, California. Founded in 2014, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL). The team was owned by Nick Swinmurn, founder of Zappos.com and a minority investor in the ...
.
Professional
On December 21, 2016, Lima signed as a
Homegrown Player for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
side
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
. He made his professional debut on March 4, 2017, starting in a 1–0 win over
Montreal Impact. His first professional goal was scored on March 11, 2017, in a 3–2 home victory against
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...
. It was the first goal scored by a Homegrown player in Earthquakes history. On October 14, 2017, he was announced as a nominee for two different league awards: the
MLS Defender of the Year Award Major League Soccer — the highest professional soccer league in the United States and Canada — has handed out a Defender of the Year award since the league's inception in 1996. alongside teammate
Florian Jungwirth, and the
MLS Rookie of the Year Award The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22.
The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no ...
, along with teammate
Jackson Yueill
Jackson William Yueill (; born March 19, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes and the United States national team.
Early life
Jackson Yueill grew up in Bl ...
.
On December 13, 2020, Lima was traded to
Austin FC
Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...
in exchange for $500,000 of General Allocation Money.
On December 11, 2023, Lima was traded to
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
in exchange for $275,000 of General Allocation Money.
International
Born in the United States, Lima is of Mexican descent.
On January 8, 2018, he received a call-up for the
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ha ...
for a friendly against
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
on January 28.
He was named to the bench for the match, but ultimately did not take the field during the 0–0 draw. He made his debut on January 27, 2019, in a friendly against
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, as a starter.
Lima played the full 90, recorded an assist, and was named Man of the Match in his International debut.
Statistics
Club
International
''As of October 15, 2019''
''Source
US Soccer
'
References
External links
*
*
1994 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
American sportspeople of Mexican descent
Men's association football defenders
Austin FC players
Burlingame Dragons FC players
California Golden Bears men's soccer players
Homegrown Players (MLS)
Major League Soccer players
San Jose Earthquakes players
Sportspeople from Castro Valley, California
Soccer players from Alameda County, California
United States men's international soccer players
USL League Two players
2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
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