Samuel Strong (born August 23, 1996) 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 currently plays for Rajpracha FC in the

Thai League 2 Thai League 2 ( th, ไทยลีก 2), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. The top 3 are promoted to Thai League 1 at the end of the s ...

Career

College & Amateur

Born in Santa Barbara, Strong played youth soccer with Santa Barbara Soccer Club and Real So Cal. He also played one season of high school soccer with San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara where he graduated in 2014. Strong received a scholarship to play

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 ...

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

between 2015 and 2016, where he scored 2 goals in 30 appearances for the Gauchos. In November 2016, Strong was charged with felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving. Strong had seen a UCSB parking official placing a clamp on one of his tires in a campus parking lot and responded by getting into his car and driving away, nearly hitting the officer. He was subsequently dismissed from the UCSB soccer team. Strong later played one season of soccer at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

in 2017. While at college, Strong played with

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

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

in 2015 and 2017.

Professional

Strong signed with

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 ...

side

Fresno FC Fresno Football Club was an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. Founded in 2017, the team was a member of the USL Championship, a second-tier league in the American Soccer Pyramid. Their first game took place on March ...

on December 21, 2017, ahead of their inaugural season. He made his professional debut on July 25, 2018, starting in a 0–0 draw with

Oklahoma City Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessma ...

. On December 2, 2019, Strong signed with

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut. History On June 8, 2021, Ha ...

. During his time with Hartford Athletic, Strong was the 2020 club defender of the year as voted by the fans. Strong signed with

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

club

San Diego 1904 FC San Diego 1904 FC was an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. In December 2021, the team was absorbed by Albion San Diego, which effectively took over 1904's membership in the National Independent Socce ...

on August 6, 2021, he scored on his debut in a match vs

Maryland Bobcats Maryland Bobcats FC, formerly World Class Premier Elite (WCPE), are an American soccer team and academy based in Montgomery County, Maryland, which was founded in 2016. The organization's professional team competes within the National Independen ...

on August 8, 2021. Strong was announced as a signing for USL Championship expansion side

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league system. ...

on February 14, 2022. Strong returned to Fresno on July 22, 2022, by way of a loan to

Central Valley Fuego FC Central Valley Fuego FC, also known as CV Fuego FC or simply Fuego FC, is an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. The team was founded in 2020, and played its inaugural season in 2022. The team competes in USL League O ...

for the remainder of the

2022 USL League One season The 2022 USL League One season was the fourth season of USL League One. The regular season began on April 2 and ended on October 15. The playoffs are scheduled to begin as early as October 22 and end no later than November 6. Eleven teams will ...

. His contract option was declined by Monterey Bay at the end of the season. In March 2023, it was announced that Strong had signed with Central Valley Fuego on a permanent deal. In July 2023 Strong and Central Valley Fuego mutually parted ways. Later that month Strong signed a contract with Rajpracha FC of the

, being the first time Strong has played for a team outside of the United States.

References

External links

Fresno FC player profile
* 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California Soccer players from Santa Barbara County, California American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's soccer players Ventura County Fusion players Fresno FC players Hartford Athletic players Monterey Bay FC players Central Valley Fuego FC players USL League Two players USL Championship players USL League One players San Marcos High School (Santa Barbara, California) alumni {{US-footy-defender-stub