Antonio "Tony" Rocha (born 21 August 1993) is a professional footballer who currently plays for
Orange County SC
Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship.
The team plays its home games ...
in the
USL Championship
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 ...
. Born in the United States, he represents the
Belize national football team
The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.
Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA ...
.
Career
College
Rocha 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 K ...
at the
University of Tulsa from 2011 to 2014. For the 2011 season, Rocha was named as the
Conference USA Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year.
He was selected to the
All-Conference USA Third-Team in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
In 2014, Rocha was a captain of the
University of Tulsa men's soccer team and helped lead the team to a conference championship. Rocha was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2014
American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.
Professional
Rocha was selected by
Sporting Kansas City in the fourth round of 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 Janua ...
. They cut him prior to the start of the season. On 9 March 2015, Rocha signed with
Austin Aztex for the
2015 USL season
The 2015 USL season was the fifth season of the United Soccer League (USL) and the first under its new name (previously the league was called USL Pro). This season represented a substantial expansion from 14 teams in 2014 to 24 teams in 2015, and ...
. This would be the team's final season before dissolving and Rocha was forced to find a new club.
On 15 October 2015, Rocha became one of the first three players to sign with newly formed
USL team
Orlando City B
Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osce ...
along with
Mikey Ambrose
Michael Ambrose (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.
Career Youth, college and amateur
Ambrose spent four seasons with the FC Dallas Development Academy before signing a letter of intent to ...
and
Kyle Callan-McFadden.
Rocha signed a short-term agreement with
Orlando City on 15 June 2016 for a
2016 U.S. Open Cup match.
On 3 August 2016, Orlando City acquired Rocha's MLS rights from
Sporting Kansas City in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the
2018 MLS SuperDraft
The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bet ...
and he was signed to an MLS contract the day after.
Rocha was loaned to
Saint Louis FC
Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wid ...
on 6 April 2018. He returned to Orlando a week later having played twice. At the end of the season the club announced they had not picked up his contract option.
On 12 December 2018, Rocha had his rights acquired by
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 ...
in exchange for a
2019 MLS SuperDraft
The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...
fourth round pick. Following the 2021 season, New York City opted to decline their contract option on Rocha.
On 18 February 2022, Rocha signed with
USL Championship
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 ...
side
Orange County SC
Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship.
The team plays its home games ...
.
International
In September 2019, Rocha was called into the
Belize national football team
The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.
Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA ...
for its
CONCACAF Nations League
The CONCACAF Nations League ( es, Liga de Naciones CONCACAF, french: Ligue des Nations de la CONCACAF) is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF, the ...
matches against
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
and
Grenada. He made his international debut on 8 September 2019 in Belize's 2–1 loss to Grenada.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honors
New York City 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 ...
:
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
References
External links
Tulsa Golden Hurricane bio*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, Tony
1993 births
Living people
People with acquired Belizean citizenship
Belizean footballers
Belize international footballers
American soccer players
American people of Belizean descent
Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's soccer players
Austin Aztex players
Orlando City B players
Orlando City SC players
Saint Louis FC players
New York City FC players
Orange County SC players
Association football midfielders
Soccer players from Texas
Sporting Kansas City draft picks
Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas
USL League Two players
National Premier Soccer League players
USL Championship players
Major League Soccer players
People from Spring, Texas