Preston Popp (born December 8, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for the Des Moines Menace in USL League Two.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | December 8, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Des Moines Menace | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CS Dollard | |||
| Charlotte Soccer Academy | |||
| North Carolina FC | |||
| 2017 | New York Red Bulls | ||
| 2017–2018 | Toronto FC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2021 | Charlotte 49ers | 67 | (22) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | North Carolina FC U23 | 6 | (1) |
| 2022 | Rochester New York FC | 8 | (0) |
| 2022 | → FC Cincinnati 2 (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2023 | North Carolina FC | 15 | (1) |
| 2024– | Des Moines Menace | 3 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 11, 2024 | |||
Early life
editBorn in Montreal, Popp is the son of Jim Popp, who was the general manager of the Canadian Football League team Montreal Alouettes at the time.[1] He began playing youth soccer with CS Dollard, before moving to Mooresville, North Carolina at age ten.[1] He played youth soccer with the Charlotte Soccer Academy and North Carolina FC.[2] He then played with the New York Red Bulls Academy[1] and the Toronto FC Academy.[3]
College career
editIn 2018, he began attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he played for the men's soccer team.[4][5] He scored his first goal on September 11, 2018, against the Elon Phoenix.[6] In his freshman season, he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team[7] and the Conference USA All-Tournament Team.[8] In his junior season, he was the Co-Golden Boot winner and was named to the Conference USA Second Team,[9] and was also a Second Team Scholar All-American, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region, and Scholar All-Region.[10] He was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-District III First Team.[11][12] In his senior season in 2021, he once again won the Conference USA Golden Boot,[13] All-Region honours, and was named to the Conference USA First Team.[14]
Club career
editIn 2019, he played with North Carolina FC U23 in USL League Two,[15] despite originally being set to join Reading United AC.[16] He was named to the USL2 Team of the Week, after scoring his first goal on June 7 against Lionsbridge FC, scoring in stoppage time to give his team a 2–1 victory.[17]
After not being selected in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft,[18] he signed a contract with MLS Next Pro side Rochester New York FC.[19][20] On May 1, he joined FC Cincinnati 2 on a short-term loan for their match against Toronto FC II, as Cincinnati was experiencing a roster shortage.[21] In November 2022, Rochester announced Popp would be departing the club.[22]
In December 2022, Popp signed a professional contract with USL League One club North Carolina FC for the 2023 season, re-joining his former youth club.[23] He won the league title with the club that season, although he played sparingly with only 170 total minutes in 15 appearances.[24]
Career statistics
edit- As of June 11, 2024[25]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| North Carolina FC U23 | 2019[15] | USL League Two | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Rochester New York | 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |
| FC Cincinnati 2 (loan) | 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| North Carolina FC | 2023 | USL League One | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| Des Moines Menace | 2024[26] | USL League Two | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 2 | |
| Career Total | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c D'Amours, Tristan (January 10, 2022). "Preston Popp eager to start professional career ahead of 2022 MLS Superdraft". Toronto Star.
- ^ Jacques, John (January 9, 2022). "Who Are The Canadians In The MLS SuperDraft?". Northern Tribune.
- ^ Dunk, Justin (October 4, 2017). "Q&A: Argos GM Jim Popp settling into life in Toronto". 3 Down Nation.
- ^ "Niners Announce Newcomers to the 2018 Roster". Charlotte 49ers. June 11, 2018.
- ^ "Preston Popp Charlotte 49ers profile". Charlotte 49ers.
- ^ "Niners Explode Offensively In 4-0 Win At Elon". Charlotte 49ers. September 11, 2018.
- ^ "MSOC: All-Conference Awards Announced". Conference USA. November 6, 2018.
- ^ "14th-ranked Charlotte suffers first home loss of season". WBTV. November 11, 2018.
- ^ "Niners Pile Up the Hardware: Hogan Named Defensive MVP, Popp Earns Co-Golden Boot Award, Seven Garner All-Conference USA Honors". Charlotte 49ers. April 20, 2021.
- ^ "Niners Trio Earns United Soccer Coaches Scholar Honors". Charlotte 49ers. May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Academic attention adds to area soccer standout's success". Mooresville Tribune. June 12, 2021.
- ^ "Three Niners Named CoSIDA Academic All-District". Charlotte 49ers. June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Mooresville's Preston Popp seals win for UNCC; earns second Golden Boot Award". Mooresville Tribune. November 9, 2021.
- ^ "Brito, Popp Earn All-Southeast Region Honors". Charlotte 49ers. December 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "Preston Popp 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
- ^ "United Add Five More DI Talents to 2019 Roster". Berks Community Television. May 6, 2019.
- ^ "USL League Two Team of the Week - Week 6". USL League Two. June 12, 2019.
- ^ Skopinsky, Robert (May 3, 2022). "Preston Popp Exclusive Interview: Soccer, Rochester, and Life". MLS Next Pro.
- ^ "Preston Popp Joins RNY FC". MLS Next Pro. January 31, 2022.
- ^ Husillos Jr., Mario (March 12, 2022). "Rochester New York FC: How the only non-MLS owned club is building its squad for the first-ever MLS Next Pro season – recruitment analysis". Total Football Analysis.
- ^ Brennan, Pat (May 2, 2022). "FC Cincinnati 'very pleased' with Obinna Nwobodo's debut against Toronto FC". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
- ^ @rnyfcofficial (November 30, 2022). "The following players have been released from the club" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "NCFC signs forward Preston Popp". North Carolina FC. December 14, 2022.
- ^ Jacques, John (November 6, 2023). "Popp Just Became A USL1 Champion, But Is He Set For Free Agency?". Northern Tribune.
- ^ Preston Popp at Soccerway
- ^ "USL2 Statistics". USL League Two.
External links
edit- Preston Popp at Soccerway