Conor Donovan (born January 8, 1996) 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.

Early life and career

Born on January 8, 1996, Donovan began his soccer career playing for Cardinal Gibbons High School in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

College

As a freshman, Donovan made 15 appearances for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

during the 2014 season, recording one goal and one assist.

Club career

Donovan was selected 22nd overall in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Janua ...

. Donovan signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract. He made his professional debut on June 17, 2015, in a

Lamar Hunt 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

match against the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

. Orlando went on to advance after winning 8–7 on penalties. On August 8, 2015, Donovan made his

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

debut against the

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 ...

; he tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his left knee in the 10th minute. Donovan signed with the

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, was an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas, Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The tea ...

of the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

for 2018. On May 31, 2018, Donovan signed with RGVFC's MLS affiliate 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 ...

. He started for the Dynamo in a 5-0

US 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

match win against NTX Reyados before being loaned back to RGVFC. On November 27, 2018, Houston declined Donovan's contract option. Donovan returned to Rio Grande Valley for the 2019 season. Following his release from Rio Grande Valley FC, Donovan returned to his home state and joined

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

. On January 12, 2021, Donovan moved to USL Championship side

OKC Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. Although ...

. Donovan moved to

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

on January 6, 2022, following OKC Energy's decision to go on a season-long hiatus.

International career

Donovan was called up to the United States U17 team for the

2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship The 2013 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, CONCACAF U-17 Championship was a North American international association football tournament that determined the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup participants from the CONCACAF region. The 2013 edition of the com ...

. Donovan was called up to the United States U20 team for the

2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place from 9 to 24 January 2015 in Jamaica. It determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. Q ...

and the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

Personal

His sister, Caitlin Donovan, played college soccer for the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the Nati ...

. He is of Irish and Italian descent.

Career statistics

Honors

Houston Dynamo *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

NC State bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, Conor 1996 births Living people American men's soccer players Cardinal Gibbons High School (North Carolina) alumni NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players Orlando City SC players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Orlando City B players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players North Carolina FC players OKC Energy FC players People from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Sportspeople from Wake County, North Carolina Soccer players from North Carolina Orlando City SC draft picks Major League Soccer players USL Championship players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Men's association football defenders Houston Dynamo FC players Sacramento Republic FC players 21st-century American sportsmen