Alexander Rando (born April 15, 2001) is an American soccer player who plays for

New York City FC II New York City FC II is an American professional soccer team based in New York City. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of New York City FC, and plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. Hi ...

in the

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS club ...

Playing career

Youth

Rando played as part of the

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

academy until 2019, where he was a two-time U-19 U.S Development Academy National Champion.

College

In 2019, Rando attended Stanford University 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 Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

, but never appeared for team after returning home before the start of the season. For 2020, Rando transferred to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

, where he made 10 appearances during a season affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Prior to joining Virginia, Rando spent two-and-a-half weeks with

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

side

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...

Professional

On May 22, 2021, it was announced Rando was on the roster 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

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

and he immediately made his debut against

Phoenix Rising Phoenix rising originally describes the heraldic position of the image of a phoenix: its head upturned (to its right) with wings raised for flight. The term can also refer to: Film and television * ''Phoenix Rising'' (Hong Kong TV series), a 2 ...

, starting in a 5–1 loss. On March 24, 2022, it was announced Rando had signed with

side

ahead of the league's inaugural season.

Personal

Rando has dual citizenship, holding an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

passport through his mother.

References

2001 births American soccer players American people of Irish descent Association football goalkeepers Las Vegas Lights FC players Living people Soccer players from New York (state) Stanford Cardinal men's soccer players USL Championship players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players New York City FC II players MLS Next Pro players {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub