Antonio "Tony" Rocha (born 21 August 1993) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Orange County SC in the USL Championship. Born in the United States, he represents the Belize national football team.

Career

College

Rocha played college soccer at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

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

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 Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

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 Januar ...

. They cut him prior to the start of the season. On 9 March 2015, Rocha signed with

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyr ...

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 along with Mikey Ambrose and

Kyle Callan-McFadden Kyle Callan-McFadden (born 20 April 1995) is an Irish footballer who plays as a centre back for National League club, King's Lynn Town. Career Highly rated as a youngster in his native Ireland Callan-McFadden joined the academy at Norwich Ci ...

. Rocha signed a short-term agreement with Orlando City on 15 June 2016 for a

2016 U.S. Open Cup The 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 103rd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. On September 8, 2015 the United States Soccer Federation decided to prevent professional teams that were "majority owned by a higher-lev ...

match. On 3 August 2016, Orlando City acquired Rocha's MLS rights from

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 be ...

and he was signed to an MLS contract the day after. Rocha was loaned to Saint Louis FC 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 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 fir ...

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 side Orange County SC.

International

In September 2019, Rocha was called into the Belize national football team for its CONCACAF Nations League matches against French Guiana and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. 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:

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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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