Steve Cisneros Palacios (born May 20, 1993) is an American retired

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 played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. A native of

San Clemente, California San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwee ...

, he played on the varsity team at San Clemente High School. As a senior, Palacios helped the Tritons to the first CIF Southern Section championship in team history and was named the All-

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Player of the Year by the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

''. He 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 ...

at Cal Poly, appearing in 66 games over four years with the Mustangs. While in college, Palacios played summer seasons with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Weste ...

and Ventura County Fusion. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, his second season with the Fusion, he helped the team finish as winners of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

's Southwest Division. After spending the 2015 season as a practice player for LA Galaxy II, Palacios 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 ...

club Portland Timbers 2 in 2016. He made two appearances in his lone season as a professional before ending his career. After retiring from professional soccer, Palacios enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He was part of the Army team at the 2019 Armed Forces Men's Soccer Championship and scored the winning goal in the championship match. Palacios then competed at the

2019 Military World Games ) , Nations participating=>140 , Athletes participating=9,308 , Events=316 events in 27 sports , Opening ceremony= , Closing ceremony= , Officially opened by=CCP General Secretary and PRC President Xi Jinping , website= (archived) , Athlete's Oat ...

as part of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

team.

Early life and youth career

Steve Cisneros Palacios was born on May 20, 1993, in

, the second of three sons to Alfredo and Paula Palacios. All three boys played soccer, and Steve trained with his older brother's teams while he was growing up. He attended San Clemente High School and played four years of varsity soccer for the Tritons. Palacios ended his high school career sitting second all-time in both goals and assists at San Clemente, and as a senior in 2011, helped the Tritons to their first-ever CIF Southern Section title. Following that title, he was named as the All-

Player of the Year by the

and earned a First Team All-CIF Southern Section nod. Palacios played his youth soccer with United FC, a youth development club in

San Juan Capistrano, California San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

. He earned selections to the California Olympic Development Program (ODP) and playied alongside

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...

at the

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

ESP camp. He represented California South at the 2010 United States Youth Soccer Association ODP Championships. Palacios also spent time with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

, playing for their academy at the 2010 SUM U-17 Cup. Ranked as the number 76 recruit nationally by College Soccer News, he committed to play

at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, part of a recruiting class that also included

Matt LaGrassa Matthew R. LaGrassa (born January 27, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for USL Championship club Sacramento Republic. Career College LaGrassa grew up in Elk Grove, California, where he attended Pleasant Grove ...

, Chase Minter, and Keegan Smith. While in high school, Palacios earned multiple call-ups to camps for the

United States men's national under-18 soccer team The United States U-18 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The U.S. under-18 men's national team serves as a transition for players between the under-17 and the under-20 national teams. Though the ...

. He made his first camp appearance in October 2009, earning the call in part due to his performance at the Adidas ESP camp. Palacios also appeared at a camp in February 2011 that included

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

matches against three

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 ...

teams. Additionally, prior to enrolling at Cal Poly, Palacios went on trial in the Netherlands with

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

College and amateur career

After being an unused substitute in the first seven games of his freshman season, Palacios made his

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-one teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West ...

' debut on September 25, 2011, coming off the bench in a 3–1 defeat against 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 ...

. He earned his first collegiate start three days later, playing 48 minutes as the Mustangs upset the no. 7

UC Irvine Anteaters The UC Irvine Anteaters (referred to Anteaters) are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mount ...

by a 1–0 scoreline. Although he played in just 10 games as a freshman, Palacios carved out a reliable role as a sophomore and appeared 18 times. He was one of the primary corner kick takers for Cal Poly, helping the team qualify for the Big West Conference Men's Soccer Tournament for the first time in two years. As a junior, Palacios appeared in a career-high 20 games for the Mustangs and tallied the first two assists of his collegiate career. The first of those came on September 5, 2013, in a 3–0 victory over the sixth-ranked

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, the highest-ranked team that Cal Poly had ever beaten. He assisted Chase Minter for the first goal of the game in the 11th minute. Palacios followed that up as a senior with his first career goals, scoring twice in 18 appearances. He was the only senior on the Mustangs roster, although 10 other

lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

returned as well. His two goals came in back-to-back games, helping the Mustangs defeat the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...

on August 31, 2014, and the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

on September 5. Palacios ended his college career having tallied two goals and two assists in 66 appearances across four years at Cal Poly.

Summer leagues

Following his freshman season at Cal Poly, Palacios played in the

(PDL) with

. He made eight appearances during the

2012 PDL season The 2012 USL Premier Development League season was the 18th season of the PDL. The regular season began on 22 April with a match between the Los Angeles Misioneros and Fresno Fuego, and ended with 14 matches on 15 July 2012. The regular season was ...

and scored one goal as the club finished in seventh place in the Southwest Division. During the following two summer seasons,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

, Palacios remained in the PDL and played with Ventura County Fusion. He led the team in appearances in 2013, as he was the only player to appear in every match of the season. Palacios totaled two goals and two assists from 14 games in league play, appeared in both of the Fusion's matches in the

2013 U.S. Open Cup The 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 100th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2012 in the fifth tier, although the United States Soccer Federation did not announce the format until Ma ...

, and came off the bench in the playoffs against

Victoria Highlanders Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008 and currently play in the League1 British Columbia. The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 201 ...

. He returned to Ventura County in 2014 and played eight times in all competitions as the Fusion won the PDL's Southwest Division. In Palacios' final game with the club, against

Kitsap Pumas Kitsap SC Pumas was an American soccer team based in Bremerton, Washington, United States. The team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. From its foundation in 2009 to 2016, the clu ...

in the Western Conference playoffs, he picked up a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

as Ventura County was eliminated in

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

Club career

Following his time at Cal Poly, Palacios was eligible to be selected in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

but went undrafted. He signed with

(USL) club LA Galaxy II as a practice player and spent the 2015 season in that role. Although Palacios was given the number 51 shirt by the team, he was not eligible to make league appearances and played his only game for the club in a postseason

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 ...

on November 14.

Portland Timbers 2

On March 24, 2016, Palacios signed with fellow USL club Portland Timbers 2. He made his club and professional debut over two months later, replacing Terrell Lowe in

stoppage time 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 ...

of a 1–0 victory against

Seattle Sounders FC 2 Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma, Washington (state), Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the Unit ...

. Palacios made just one more appearance for T2: coming off the bench against Swope Park Rangers on June 4. He finished his lone season in Portland, and subsequently wrapped up his professional career, with just the two games played.

Military career

After ending his professional soccer career, Palacios enlisted in the

as a

specialist Specialist may refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), a military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist (arena football) * Specialist degree, in academia * Specialty (medicine) * Designated market maker, in the American stock market * ...

in 2017. While assigned to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, he was chosen to represent the Army team at the 2019 Armed Forces Men's Soccer Championship. In the championship match against the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

team, Palacios scored the winning goal in second half stoppage time, giving Army a 2–1 victory and their first tournament title since 2015. At the conclusion of the tournament, he was selected to the

team to compete at the

. Palacios and 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 territorie ...

were eliminated in the group stage at the games, losing all three matches. During his time in the Army, Palacios also served at Fort Drum in

Le Ray, New York Le Ray is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 25,574 at the 2020 census, up from 21,782 in 2010. The town is named for Jacques-Donatien Le Ray, known as a French "father of the American Revolution". The town i ...

, before his enlistment ended and he transitioned to service in the California Army National Guard.

Coaching career

While still an active soccer player, Palacios began coaching. He ran youth soccer camps while at Cal Poly, and during his time with LA Galaxy II, he was on the staff of the San Clemente Surf youth club. In 2022, Palacios served as an assistant coach for the boys' team at San Clemente High School, his alma mater.

Personal life

Palacios is the second of three children in his family, alongside brothers Kevin and Oscar. He graduated from Cal Poly with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in recreation, parks, and tourism administration, then earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

in 2020. Palacios is married to Blake Zerboni, the twin sister of professional soccer player

McCall Zerboni McCall RaNae Zerboni (born December 13, 1986) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for and captains NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Born in Camarillo, California, to parent ...

. Blake is also from San Clemente and played college soccer at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Career statistics

Honors

Ventura County Fusion *

PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics *Democratic Liberal Party (Romania), Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former politi ...

Western Conference – Southwest Division:

United States military * Armed Forces Sports Men's Soccer Championship: 2019

References

External links

Cal Poly profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palacios, Steve 1993 births Living people American men's soccer players Military personnel from California Sportspeople from San Clemente, California Soccer players from Orange County, California University of Maryland, Baltimore County alumni Men's association football midfielders Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players Ventura County Fusion players Portland Timbers 2 players USL Championship players USL League Two players United States Army soldiers California National Guard personnel