Adrián Zendejas Rodríguez (born August 30, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

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 ...

club

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 ...

, on loan from

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

Career

Youth

Zendejas grew up playing with Nomads SC and San Diego Surf of the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

, and for Hilltop High School, before joining the under-20s of Liga MX side

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

Professional

On June 30, 2016, Zendejas signed with

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

side

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swop ...

. He went 8-0-0 in his first eight starts. In helping Rangers to the USL Cup Final, he had a 0.36

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on ...

and 0.87

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

, both ranking best in the USL among all goalkeepers with at least eight appearances. In December 2016, Zendejas signed a

contract with

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...

. He began the 2017 MLS season as backup to

Tim Melia Timothy Melia (; born May 15, 1986) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. Youth and college Melia was born in Great River, New York. Melia attended East Islip High S ...

, before re-joining Rangers on loan from Sporting KC. In 25 USL appearances, he had 10 shutouts and a goals-against-average of 0.91, again regarded as one of USL's top goalkeepers. In the USL Cup Playoffs against OKC Energy, after making two saves in regulation, one save in extra time, and four saves in the penalty shootout, Zendejas himself scored the game-winning penalty kick that sent Swope Park to the USL Cup Final again. In 2018, Zendejas split time between starting on loan at Swope Park in USL and backing up Tim Melia in MLS. On June 6, Zendejas made his Sporting KC debut in the fourth round of the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

, shutting out

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

over 90 minutes in a 2-0 victory. On June 18, he went 90 minutes again for Sporting KC in the Open Cup, in the Round of 16 against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the leag ...

, notching five saves in a 3-2 victory. On November 19, 2019, Zendejas was traded to

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

in exchange for $125,000 of Targeted Allocation Money and $50,000 of General Allocation Money. On September 18, 2020, Zendejas was traded again, this time to

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

in exchange for a fourth round

2021 MLS SuperDraft The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call and ...

pick and up to $100,000 in General Allocation Money if he meets certain performance-based metrics for Minnesota. On May 21, 2021, Minnesota loaned Zendejas to El Paso Locomotive of the

. On January 16, 2022, Zendejas joined

as a free agent ahead of their inaugural season in MLS. On January 17, 2023, Zendejas was loaned to

side

International

Zendejas is eligible to play for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

due to his birth and upbringing in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...

, and for

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

through parentage. He has expressed an interest in representing the United States.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zendejas, Adrian 1995 births Living people American soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Club Tijuana footballers Sporting Kansas City II players Sporting Kansas City players Nashville SC players Minnesota United FC players El Paso Locomotive FC players Charlotte FC players Charlotte Independence players Miami FC players Association football goalkeepers Soccer players from California Sportspeople from Chula Vista, California USL Championship players Major League Soccer players USL League One players