Christopher Michael Cortez (born July 24, 1988) is an American professional soccer forward.

Career

Youth and College

Cortez, who is of Mexican descent, attended the

Trabuco Hills High School Trabuco Hills High School is a high school in Mission Viejo, California, United States. It is in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. Awards THHS has received: *2002 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Demographics The demo ...

, where he earned South Coast League first-team all-league honors as both a junior and a senior, and led his team to the South Coast League Championship in 2005. He played club soccer for Pateadores, and played one year of

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 Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, before signing 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. Gua ...

's youth academy. He went on to trial with Mexican side

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whi ...

in late 2010, before returning to the United States in early 2011 to train with

's senior team. He participated in several of Chivas's preseason matches, and also played in the

MLS Reserve Division The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chivas ...

, prior to officially turning professional.

Professional

Cortez was formally signed by

on May 15, 2011, and was immediately added to the club's game day roster. He made his professional debut the same day, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-2 victory over the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. Cortez was released by Chivas USA on February 26, 2012. He then played for the

Orange County Blues 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 ...

, scoring 20 goals in 63 games.

Arizona United SC

Cortez signed with

Arizona United Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an adver ...

on March 19, 2016. Cortez finished the 2016 season with seven goals and four assists.

Phoenix Rising FC

In November 2016, Arizona United re-branded as

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an advert ...

. Cortez finished his second season with the Phoenix USL franchise with five goals and team leading five assists, and earned USL Team of the Week honors in Week 23 of the season. Cortez had a record setting 2018 season, tallying 19 goals on 81 shots, and appearing in 33 games. His performance set a club record for goals in a season and career goals. On December 4, 2018, Cortez announced that he would not return to the club in favor of a chance to play in the Thailand League 1.

FC Helsingør

On August 8, 2019, Cortez joined

Danish 2nd Division The 2nd Division ( da, Danmarksturneringens 2. division or Herre-DM 2. division) is a semi-professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Footb ...

club

FC Helsingør FC Helsingør is a Danish football club from Helsingør. The club plays in the Danish 1st Division, having been promoted after winning the Danish 2nd Division in the 2019-2020 season. The club has finished the last two seasons in the top 4 of t ...

on a free transfer. He left the club at the end of the season.

Miami FC

Cortez returned to the now-named

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 ...

on September 17, 2021 and signed for

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 s ...

. He left the club following the 2021 season.

Monterey Bay

On February 4, 2022, Cortez was announced as a signing for USL Championship expansion side

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league syste ...

. Cortez was included in the starting 11 for Monterey Bay's inaugural match, a 4-2 loss to

. His contract option was declined by the club at the end of the season.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Chris 1988 births Living people American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Men's association football forwards California Golden Bears men's soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS) Chivas USA players Orange County SC players Phoenix Rising FC players FC Helsingør players Miami FC players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Danish 2nd Division players Sportspeople from Mission Viejo, California Soccer players from Orange County, California Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico American expatriate sportspeople in Thailand American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Monterey Bay FC players Trabuco Hills High School alumni