Yesin van der Pluijm (born 4 April 1999) is a Dutch professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays 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 ...

for

One Knoxville SC One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. History USL League Two The club was initially unveiled as Knox Pro ...

in USL League One.

Career

Youth

Van der Pluijm, raised in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, joined local side

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

when he was seven year's old. After almost a decade with the club, he left the club and joined Excelsior, where he captained the U19 side in his first season.

College and amateur

In 2018, Van der Pluijm moved to the United States 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 ...

Young Harris College Young Harris College is a private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States. History Origins The school was founded in 1886 by Artemas Lester, a circuit-riding Methodist minister who wanted to pr ...

. Over three seasons with the Mountain Lions, he made 54 appearances, scoring four goals and tallying three assists. In 2019 he was named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region second team, CoSIDA Academic All-District III Men's Soccer Team, the All-Peach Belt Conference second team, and the Peach Belt Conference Men's Soccer Team of Academic Distinction. In 2019, Van der Pluijm played in the

USL League Two 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 ...

with Cincinnati Dutch Lions, where he scored a single goal in 11 appearances.

Professional

On 17 December 2021, it was announced that Van der Pluijm would join USL Championship side

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E ...

ahead of their 2022 season. He made his professional debut on 26 March 2022, appearing as a 90th–minute substitute in a 2–0 win over Birmingham Legion. Van der Pluijm joined USL League One expansion club

on 15 December 2022. The move reunites van der Pluijm and his college coach, Mark McKeever. He made his USL League One debut on 19 March 2023 starting against

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States ...

and scoring his first goal on 1 May 2023, a game winning overtime goal against Central Valley Fuego FC.

References

7.^ https://www.degraafschap.nl/nieuws/steven-theunissen-opgeroepen-voor-knvb-team-onder-14-jaar. ''Dutch national youth team.''

External links

Young Harris bioVoetballoopbaan Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pluijm, Yesin van der 1999 births Men's association football midfielders Cincinnati Dutch Lions players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Dutch expatriate men's footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States Dutch men's footballers Excelsior Rotterdam players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Feyenoord players Footballers from Rotterdam Living people People from Rotterdam USL Championship players USL League Two players Young Harris Mountain Lions men's soccer players One Knoxville SC players