Riley Neal Grant (born January 27, 1995) 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 plays as a defender. Previously, he played professionally for Seattle Sounders FC 2, and also appeared for

AFC Cleveland AFC Cleveland was an American semi-professional soccer club based in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, Ohio. Founded in 2011 and playing its first season in 2012, the team spent six years in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League. A ...

and Cleveland SC, where he was used as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Youth and college

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Grant was a three-year letterwinner at Copley High School, playing with the Indians through his junior year. Although a steady contributor his first two years, he broke out as a junior, notching 16 goals and eight assists. Grant was named second-team All-Ohio, as well as all- Suburban League and all- Northeast Region. He did not play with Copley as a senior, instead choosing to play club soccer with Internationals SC in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Grant was rated as a four-star recruit, according to

Top Drawer Soccer A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few se ...

, and committed to play for the Akron Zips and new head coach Jared Embick. Grant found playing time hard to come by in what turned out to be his lone season at Akron, appearing in only half of the Zips' games on the year. His 11 appearances did include playing in both games at the MAC Tournament, but he did not make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as the Zips were eliminated in the second round. Following his freshman year, Grant announced his departure from Akron and transferred to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. In his inaugural season with the Nittany Lions, he appeared 18 times and scored his first collegiate goal, coming in a 6–2 victory over Penn on September 24, 2014. Grant also added the game-winning assist in a victory over his former team, Akron, on November 5. As a junior, he started all 18 matches for the Nittany Lions, moving into a more attacking role than what he had seen as a sophomore. Grant scored what would be his final collegiate goal on October 3, 2015, helping Penn State to a 2–0 victory over Rutgers. He finished out his Penn State career with 17 appearances as a senior, ending his time with the Nittany Lions with two goals and five assists from 53 appearances.

AFC Cleveland

Following his junior year at Penn State, Grant played in the NPSL with his hometown club,

. He officially signed with the Royals on May 3, 2016, just eight days before the start of the season. Grant went on to make eight appearances in all competitions for Cleveland, tallying three goals. Although he did not make an appearance during the playoffs, the Royals went on to win the NPSL championship, topping Sonoma County Sol in the championship match.

Club career

Seattle Sounders FC 2

On March 22, 2017, Grant signed his first professional contract, joining USL club Seattle Sounders FC 2. He was one of seven players signed on the day by S2, becoming the club's tenth player, and fourth defender, under contract for the year. Grant made his professional and club debut four days later, starting in the season-opening 2–1 defeat against

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

. He notched his only goal for the club on June 10, a header two minutes into first half stoppage time against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, although S2 would go on to lose the match 3–1. In late July, Grant was released by S2 after falling out of the rotation in the defense. He departed the club with one goal in 12 appearances.

Cleveland SC

Grant returned to his hometown of Cleveland for the 2018 season, dropping out of the professional game by signing with NPSL expansion club Cleveland SC. He was initially announced as part of the club's preliminary roster on April 11, 2018, then was confirmed as part of the official roster on April 24. Grant was set to be one of two former professional players to join the club for its first season, alongside

Bradley Ruhaak Bradley Ruhaak (born September 17, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. References External links * 1994 births Living people Men's association football defenders American men's soccer players Akron Zips men's ...

, but Ruhaak left the club before the start of the season and instead joined Michigan Bucks. Grant made his Cleveland debut on June 3, starting away to FC Buffalo in a scoreless draw. On June 24, he scored his first goal for the club, providing the third strike in a 4–0 takedown of

Syracuse FC Syracuse FC is a soccer team based in Syracuse, New York. They debuted in the National Premier Soccer League in May 2017. The team colors are white, black, gold and maroon. History Syracuse FC was announced as a National Premier Soccer League ...

. Grant did not appear during the playoffs as Cleveland was eliminated in the Midwest semifinals; he finished the season having scored once in seven appearances for CSC.

Career statistics

Honors

;AFC Cleveland * National Premier Soccer League:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* Midwest Region (Playoffs):

* Great Lakes Conference (Playoffs):

* Great Lakes Conference (Regular Season):

References

External links

Akron profile

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Riley Living people 1995 births American soccer players Soccer players from Cleveland Association football defenders Akron Zips men's soccer players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Tacoma Defiance players Cleveland SC players Enosis Neon Paralimni FC players USL Championship players National Premier Soccer League players Cypriot First Division players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Cyprus American expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus