Austin da Luz (born October 9, 1987) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player.

Career

Youth and college

Da Luz attended St. Stephen's Episcopal School Soccer Academy in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, where he was exposed to high levels of intensive training and competition on a regular basis and was able to travel and participate in international tournament play. Da Luz played

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 ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

from 2006 to 2009 where he appeared in 80 games scoring 13 goals and adding 39 assists. He was a member of Wake Forest's 2007 NCAA College Cup Championship team. During his college years da Luz also played for

Austin Aztex U23 Austin Aztex U23 was an American soccer team based in Round Rock, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franc ...

in the

USL 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 ...

Professional

Da Luz was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the

2010 MLS SuperDraft The 2010 MLS SuperDraft was the eleventh annual MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America, NSCAA Conv ...

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, 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 (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. In the semi-finals of the pre-season 2010 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, da Luz scored the winning goal in the penalty kick shoot-out against the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, topping off the score at 6-5 and helping the

reach the final. He made his professional debut on April 27, 2010, in a U.S. Open Cup game against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

, and made his MLS debut against the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

on May 28, 2011. On June 19, 2011, da Luz scored his first goal for New York and assisted on a

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

goal in a 3–3 draw with

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 ...

. On July 18, 2011, da Luz was traded to D.C. United for use of an international roster slot for the remainder of 2011. Da Luz signed with NASL club

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

on April 4, 2012, and stayed with the club for two seasons. In 2014, he signed with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

side Orlando City. He was released upon the conclusion of the 2014 season, a casualty of the Orlando City's transition to Major League Soccer. He re-signed with Carolina RailHawks after his release by Orlando City. On August 13, 2019, da Luz announced he would retire at the end of the

2019 USL Championship season The 2019 USL Championship season was the ninth season of the USL Championship and third under Division II sanctioning. This was the first season in which the league operated under the name "USL Championship," using the moniker "United Soccer Le ...

Post-retirement

For the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Re ...

, da Luz became a color commentator for North Carolina FC television broadcasts.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Da Luz, Austin 1987 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Austin Aztex U23 players D.C. United players Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls draft picks New York Red Bulls players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players North Carolina FC players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Soccer players from North Carolina Sportspeople from Winston-Salem, North Carolina USL Championship players USL League Two players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players