Sebastien Uchechukwu Ibeagha (born January 21, 1992) is a professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

. Born in Nigeria, he represented the United States national under-20 team.

Career

Youth, college, and semi-professional

Ibeagha joined the Houston Dynamo academy after he and his family moved to Houston, Texas from

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. He was named as the 2009 Dynamo Academy Player of the Year and trained with the Dynamo first team during the summer of 2009. Ibeagha 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 K ...

at Duke University from 2010 to 2013. He made 70 appearances for the Blue Devils, scoring eight goals and assisting on three others. Ibeagha was twice named first team All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

and was named as the 2012 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He was named to one of the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America 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 3 ...

All-South Region teams in all of his seasons with Duke. While at Duke, Ibeagha was offered multiple first team contracts by Houston, but he declined them due to his father wanting him to finish school and Ibeagha preferring to try to make a career in Europe. While at college, Ibeagha also appeared for Premier Development League side

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Th ...

Professional

AC Horsens

After college, Ibeagha forgoed a homegrown contract with the Houston Dynamo and instead signed with Danish side AC Horsens. He made his AC Horsens debut on March 15, 2014, in a 5–0 victory over

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

in the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will quali ...

. Ibeagha would make his league debut for AC Horsens on March 23 in a 0–0 draw with Vejle Boldklub. He started 17 out of a possible 18 games for AC Horsens in his first season with the club. Ibeagha made 2 appearances with AC Horsens in the 2014–15 season before being sent on loan to

FC Fredericia Fodbold Club Fredericia af 1991 (, simply known as FC Fredericia), is a professional association football club based in the town of Fredericia, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league syst ...

. He made his Fredercia debut on August 10, 2014, in a 2–0 defeat to

Akademisk Boldklub Akademisk Boldklub Gladsaxe (or AB) is a Danish professional football club from Gladsaxe north of Copenhagen, currently playing at the 3rd highest level of Danish domestic football in the Danish 2nd Division group 1. The club was established on ...

. On October 5, Fredericia played Ibeagha's parrent club AC Horsens to a 3–3 draw, with Ibeagha scoring an own-goal. Ibeagha scored his first goal on October 26 in a 3–1 defeat to Vejle Boldklub. Ibeagha returned to AC Horsens for the second half of the 2014–15 season, but he didn't feature with the team. He was loaned to Icelandic club

Fram Reykjavik Fram may refer to: Ships * ''Fram'' (ship), an arctic exploration vessel from Norway * MS ''Fram'', expedition cruise ship owned by Hurtigruten Group Places and geography * Fram, Paraguay, a town in Itapúa, Paraguay * Fram Formation, a se ...

for Fram's 2015 season. He made his debut for Fram on May 23, 2015, in a 0–1 loss to

Knattspyrnufélag Fjarðabyggðar Knattspyrnufélag Fjarðabyggðar (KFF) was an Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's cap ...

. Ibeagha scored his first goal for Fram on August 22 in a 2–2 draw with Throttur Reykjavik.

Houston Dynamo

On January 26, 2016, Ibeagha signed with his former youth club Houston Dynamo. He struggled to find game time, so Ibeagha was sent to Houston's

USL 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, p ...

affiliate club Rio Grande Valley FC. He would make six appearances with the Torros before being loaned to NASL side

Rayo OKC Rayo OKC, also known as Rayo Oklahoma City, was an American professional soccer team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) – the second tier of the American soccer pyramid – beginning w ...

on July 12, 2016. Ibeagha made his debut for Rayo OKC on July 23 in a 1–0 defeat to

Puerto Rico FC Puerto Rico FC was a professional football club based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2015, the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team debuted in the 2016 fall ...

. He scored his first goal for Rayo OKC on September 10 in a 3–2 win over the

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They most recently played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season while ...

. Ibeagha helped Rayo OKC qualify for the 2016 NASL Playoffs. He made zero competitive appearances in his time with Houston.

San Antonio FC

On February 3, 2017, Ibeagha signed with

club

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

. He made his SAFC debut on March 26 in a 1–0 win over Rio Grande Valley FC. He was named to the USL team of the week for Week 1. Ibeagha and San Antonio recorded the second longest shutout streak in USL history between April 28 to June 17 when they went 672 minutes without conceding a goal. Ibeagha helped San Antonio finish second in the Western Conference by anchoring defense that led the league with 15 clean sheets and conceded a league-low 24 goals in 2017. His 190 clearances were the most by any USL player for 2017. Ibeagha was named as the 2017 USL Defender of the Year and was also named to the 2017 USL All-League First Team.

New York City FC

Ibeagha signed with Major League Soccer side

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

on February 27, 2018, after training with the team during pre-season. He made his MLS debut in NYCFC's first game of the 2018 season, coming on as a sub in a 2–0 win against Sporting Kansas City. Ibeagha got the start in their next game, a 2–1 win over the LA Galaxy. After only featuring as a sub for three of the next six games, Ibeagha established himself by appearing in 26 league games and starting 18 of them. He helped qualify NYCFC for the

2018 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2018 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) began on October 31 and ended on December 8 with MLS Cup 2018, the 23rd league championship match for MLS. This was the 23rd version of the MLS Cup P ...

, their third straight season qualifying for the postseason. After not appearing in the first five games of the 2019 season, Ibeagha started against the Montreal Impact and helped NYCFC keep a clean sheet and earn a 0–0 draw. He made 23 MLS appearances on the season, 11 being starts, to help NYCFC finish first place in the Eastern Conference and finish with the second-best defensive record in the conference. However, he did not feature in the playoffs.

Los Angeles FC

On August 6, 2021, Ibeagha was acquired by Los Angeles FC from NYCFC in exchange for $150,000 in General Allocation Money.

FC Dallas

On December 5, 2022, Ibeagha was signed by

three weeks after his contract with Los Angeles FC expired.

International

Ibeagha has represented the United States at the under-20 level.

Personal

Born in Nigeria, Ibeagha and his family moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2001. Ibeagha attended

Hightower High School Hightower High School is a secondary school (grades 9–12) located at 3333 Hurricane Lane, Missouri City, Texas, United States, adjacent to The Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road. Hightower is administered by Fort Bend Independent School District a ...

Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, up from 67,3 ...

. He played varsity soccer and football in high school. Ibeagha's brother,

Christian Ibeagha Christian Ogochukwu Ibeagha (born January 10, 1990) is a Nigerian-born American soccer player. Career Youth, College and Amateur Ibeagha attended Deer Creek High School in Edmond, Oklahoma and spent his entire college career at Duke University ...

, currently plays for the

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 ...

Career Statistics

Club

Honors

Los Angeles FC *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

* Supporters' Shield:

Individual *USL Defender of the Year: 2017 *USL All-League First Team: 2017 *

Defensive Player of the Year: 2012 *First Team All-ACC: 2012, 2013 *Second Team All-ACC: 2011 *All-ACC Freshman Team: 2010 *

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 Third Team: 2013 *NSCAA All-South Region First Team: 2012, 2013 *NSCAA All-South Region Second Team: 2011 *NSCAA All-South Region Third Team: 2010 *Dynamo Academy Player of the Year: 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibeagha, Sebastien 1992 births Living people American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American soccer players Association football defenders North Carolina Fusion U23 players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Iceland Houston Dynamo FC players Major League Soccer players New York City FC players Los Angeles FC players FC Dallas players Nigerian footballers North American Soccer League players People from Missouri City, Texas Rayo OKC players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players San Antonio FC players Soccer players from Texas Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players USL League Two players Sportspeople from Warri