Benjamin Sweat (born September 4, 1991) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a left-back for

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 Canada ...

club

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

Career

Youth and college

Sweat played soccer at Palm Harbor University High School and then went on to play

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

soccer at the University of South Florida between 2010 and 2013. Sweat still holds the record for most appearances in matches at South Florida. While at college, Sweat also appeared for USL PDL clubs VSI Tampa Bay and

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 Don Thomas Stadium on the campus ...

Professional

Sweat has earned experience while training with Swedish top flight club Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (2012 & 2013 summer). He also spent a summer in Czech Republic with SK Sigma Olomouc (2013 summer). On January 16, 2014, Sweat was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center ...

by Columbus Crew. Sweat was loaned out to Columbus Crew's USL Pro affiliate club Dayton Dutch Lions in May 2014 for a few matches. Sweat was given his first professional start on June 25, 2014, in the 5th round of the US Open Cup against Chicago Fire. He also played a half against English Premier league side Crystal Palace F.C. on July 23, 2014. After being with the first team inconsistently, Columbus Crew SC announced on February 9, 2015, that they had waived Sweat. After being waived by Columbus, Sweat signed with NASL club Tampa Bay Rowdies on March 2, 2015. He spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Tampa Bay, making 33 regular season appearances for the club before leaving at the conclusion of the 2016 season. Sweat trialed with New York City FC during their 2017 pre-season, and was signed by the club on February 23, 2017. He signed a multi-year contract extension with New York City FC at the end of the 2017 season. On November 19, 2019, Sweat was selected by

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...

in the

2019 MLS Expansion Draft The 2019 MLS Expansion Draft was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion teams Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC that was held on November 19, 2019. On October 6, 2019, Inter Miami CF won the coin toss for the Expansion Priority Draf ...

. On December 13, 2020, Sweat was traded to Austin FC ahead of their inaugural season. Following the 2021 season, Sweat's contract option was declined by Austin.

International

Sweat was called up for the

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

for the first time in October 2018. He played in 2 games, against Colombia and Peru.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * 1991 births Living people American soccer players Association football defenders Austin FC players Columbus Crew draft picks Columbus Crew players Dayton Dutch Lions players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players New York City FC players Inter Miami CF players People from Palm Harbor, Florida Reading United A.C. players Soccer players from Florida South Florida Bulls men's soccer players Sportspeople from Pinellas County, Florida Tampa Bay Rowdies players United States men's international soccer players USL Championship players USL League Two players VSI Tampa Bay FC (PDL) players University of South Florida alumni {{US-footy-defender-stub