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

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

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 {{US-footy-defender-stub