Héctor Benjamín "Benji" Joya Jiménez (born September 22, 1993) is an American 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 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 ...

Club career

Santos Laguna

Joya, who is of Mexican descent grew up in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

of California, played in the USSF Development Academy for De Anza Force. In early 2012, he joined

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

's organization. He began playing during the 2012 Clausura with the club's U-20 team. In September 2012, the midfielder made his first team debut in a

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

match.

Chicago Fire

Joya was loaned to Chicago Fire with an option to buy ahead of the 2014 MLS season. In the 2014 season opener, he made his MLS debut as a 63rd-minute substitute with his side was down 2–0. Seconds after making his way onto the field, a shot deflected by the

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

keeper landed in front of him. He scored a left-footed shot inside the six yard box to put the Fire on the board, making it 2–1. That was Joya's first MLS touch and only league goal of the season.

Club Necaxa

Joya was loaned to

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

of the Ascenso MX for 2015–16.

Sporting Kansas City

Joya signed with

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

on September 15, 2016, before the MLS roster freeze.

Irapuato

On January 10, 2018, Joya signed with Mexican club

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

Oakland Roots SC

In April 2019, Joya signed with

NISA NISA may refer to: * National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier United States soccer league * National Intelligence and Security Agency of Somalia * Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade a ...

expansion club

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

. He played in six of the team's games during both the Fall and Spring seasons. On September 8, 2019, Joya scored his first goal for Oakland against

side

FC Juárez Fútbol Club Juárez, also known as Bravos de Juárez or simply Juárez, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, that currently competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football ...

in an international friendly at

Laney College Laney College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County. Laney College is named after Joseph Clarence Laney. ...

, which the Roots lost 4–2. On April 16, 2020, while the NISA season was on hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Joya was released from Oakland following an arrest the previous day.

International career

Joya was a member of the United States U-20 squad at the

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joya, Benji 1993 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Santos Laguna footballers Chicago Fire FC players Sporting Kansas City players Liga MX players Major League Soccer players National Independent Soccer Association players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Soccer players from San Jose, California Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Men's association football midfielders C.D. Irapuato footballers Club Necaxa footballers Oakland Roots SC players De Anza Force players 21st-century American sportsmen