Aaron Molloy (born 11 January 1997) is an Irish 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Youth and college

Molloy played for the

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

academy for the 2014–15 season, as well as a short season in 2015 where he served as captain. He received the Bohemians U19 player of the year award for the 2014–15 season.

College

After a season with

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is a professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches at Sullivan & Lambe Park. The current club is the ...

in Ireland, Molloy decided to move to the United States to play

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

. He played and started in 15 matches as a freshman at

Keiser University Keiser University is a private university with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and flagship residential campus in West Palm Beach, Florida. Additional campuses are located in other parts of Florida and internationally. Keiser provides ...

, recording his first appearance against Texas Wesleyan on 9 September 2016 and scoring his first goal at St. Thomas on 19 October. Molloy earned Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Conference honors. In his first season at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, Molloy appeared in 16 matches. He made his Nittany Lions debut against Hofstra on 25 August 2017 and scored his first goal at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

on 1 September. In his junior season, Molloy was a team captain and appeared in 15 matches. He earned

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

preseason honors, All-Big Ten second team and

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All-North Region third-team. In his senior season, Molloy was again a team captain and appeared in 19 matches.

Club career

The first senior appearance for Molloy was for Irish club

, where in 2016 he played in 13 matches and scored two goals. After the season, Molloy paused his professional career and went to the United States to play

for

and

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. Molloy began playing with the Philadelphia Union's

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

affiliate

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Alvernia University. The club's col ...

in 2016, appearing with the club for three seasons. He was named the PDL Young Player of the Year in 2017. Molloy was invited to the 2020 MLS Combine, and was subsequently drafted by

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

with the 16th pick of the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 SuperDraft we ...

. Molloy signed with

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champ ...

in the

, the club that serves as a reserve squad for the

. Molloy made his Timbers debut on 18 July 2020, starting in a 3–0 loss to

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

. On February 17, 2021, Molloy signed with

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

Forward Madison FC Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in USL League One, the third division of the United States soccer l ...

. On January 11, 2022, Molloy moved to

side

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. On November 13, 2024, it was announced that the team would be ...

. He left Memphis following the 2023 season. Molloy signed a multi-year contract with the

in December 2023.

Career statistics

Personal life

Molloy is the son of Trevor Molloy, a fellow Irish footballer who played for teams in Ireland. Molloy studied for a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation, park, and tourism management from the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State.

Awards

* PDL Young Player of the Year * Big Ten Midfielder of the Year * All-Big Ten first team * All-Big Ten second team * TopDrawerSoccer 2019 Best XI First Team * United Soccer Coaches All-North Region First Team * United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team. * United Soccer Coaches All-North Region third-team member * Sun Conference Freshman of the Year * All-Sun Conference second team * 3x

All-League First Team:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, 2024

References

External links

Portland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Aaron 1997 births Living people Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Association footballers from Dublin (city) Men's association football midfielders Bohemian F.C. players Drogheda United F.C. players Memphis 901 FC players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Reading United AC players Portland Timbers draft picks Portland Timbers 2 players Forward Madison FC players League of Ireland players USL Championship players USL League One players USL League Two players Republic of Ireland expatriate men's association footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Charleston Battery players 21st-century Irish sportsmen