Samuel Cruz Garza (born October 17, 1989) 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 for Denton Diablos FC in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

Early life and education

Garza was born on October 17, 1989, in

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the 23rd-most populous city in Texas. History The area was first settled by Jared Ford i ...

. After his father's job moved him to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, he returned to

Highland Village, Texas Highland Village is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth, located on the south side of the far western branch of Lewisville Lake. As of the 2020 United States census the city's population was 15, ...

, to attend

Edward S. Marcus High School Edward S. Marcus High School is a public high school in Flower Mound, Texas. It is a part of the Lewisville Independent School District. Academics Marcus High School was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 19 ...

and play on the school's varsity soccer team from 2005 to 2008. Garza would win back-to-back Texas Class 5A State titles with the team and was named as the 2008 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year and a

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

All-American. Garza attended the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

and 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 the

Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving ...

men's soccer team. He made 20 appearances for the Pioneers and scored 4 goals before tearing his ACL and meniscus early in his sophomore year. Garza transferred to the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, joining up with the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the ...

team ahead of the 2010 season. He was the first United States U20 team player to join the Gauchos. In his two years at UCSB, Garza made 44 appearances, scoring 17 goals and assisting on 10 others.

Club career

San Jose Earthquakes

Following his junior year, Garza was signed by

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 ...

to a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

contract and forwent playing his senior season at UCSB. He was drafted in the first round, sixth overall, by

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 ...

in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

, two spots behind Gaucho teammate Luis Silva.

San Antonio and Arizona

In February 2014, San Jose sent Garza on loan to

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

side

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

. Garza, on his loan to San Antonio, has stated "When I got loaned to San Antonio Scorpions, it was one of the worst times of my life. I was not enjoying my football." He would make 2 appearances in total for the club before San Jose waived him in July 2014. Garza joined

USL PRO The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side

Arizona United SC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an adver ...

for the remainder of the 2014 season. He appeared in 9 games, scoring once. While playing for Arizona United, he caught the attention of

Ezra Hendrickson Ezra Hendrickson (born 16 January 1972) is a Vincentian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire. Born in Layou, Hendrickson moved with his family to the United Sta ...

and a conversation with

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American Association football, soccer Manager (association football), coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West ...

ensued, leading Garza to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. At the conclusion of the season, Garza returned home to Texas and set forth a career in coaching and teaching at Marcus High School, becoming the school’s varsity head coach in 2019.

Seattle Sounders FC 2

Following his conversations at the end of the prior season, Garza went on trial with

Seattle Sounders FC 2 Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Soun ...

of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

in February 2015. His trial was successful and he signed with the club in March 2015. He appeared in 23 games, adding 4 goals and 2 assists, but he was not retained for the following season.

Return to Arizona

Garza was re-signed by Arizona United in February 2016 for the 2016 USL season. In November 2016, Garza was named as the head coach for the Marcus Marauders Football Club (MMFC), the Boys Soccer team at his alma mater

, in

Flower Mound, Texas Flower Mound is an incorporated town located in Denton and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Located northwest of Dallas and northeast of Fort Worth adjacent to Grapevine Lake, the town derives its name from a prominent mound locate ...

International career

Garza was a member of the

United States men's national under-20 soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

from 2008 to 2009. His first game was December 20, 2008, against Haiti U20 and he scored his first U20 goal against the Canada U20 team just days later on December 22. He later represented his country at the

2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship was the biannual CONCACAF youth championship tournament for under-20 national teams. The 2009 edition was held in Trinidad and Tobago. All matches were played at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago and Mar ...

. Garza was named to the U-20 team by

Thomas Rongen Thomas Eddy Rongen (born 31 October 1956) is a Dutch American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States Men's National Team. ...

for the

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confedera ...

, but had to be replaced due to his knee injury suffered with Denver Pioneers. He made a total of 7 appearances with 1 goal for the U20 side.

References

External links

Arizona United SC player profile

NASL player profile
*
San Jose Earthquakes profile

United States U20 profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Sam 1989 births Living people American soccer players Denver Pioneers men's soccer players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players San Jose Earthquakes players San Antonio Scorpions players Phoenix Rising FC players Tacoma Defiance players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Texas Sportspeople from Collin County, Texas Sportspeople from Dallas County, Texas Sportspeople from Denton County, Texas People from Carrollton, Texas San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players