Dakota J. Collins (born August 15, 1991) is an American

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

Orange County FC Orange County FC is an American soccer club based in Lake Forest, California, that currently plays in the United Premier Soccer League. They previously played in the National Premier Soccer League and SoCal Premier League. The club's colors are ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

Career

Collins was born in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. He played four years of

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 ...

, two years with

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

and a further two with the

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty teams and competes in NCAA D ...

. During his time in college, he also spent the 2009 season with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of th ...

and the 2012 season with

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

in the

USL PDL 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 feature ...

. After graduating, Collins spent 2013 with USL PDL club

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women's team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then joine ...

, where he scored 3 goals in 13 appearances. Collins signed his first professional contract in March 2014, joining

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 ...

club

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 ...

. At the beginning of 2015, he moved to Croatia, joining third-tier

NK HAŠK NK HAŠK 1903 Zagreb is a Croatian football club from Zagreb that currently competes in the Third Football League – Center (3. NL – Centar). The club plays its home matches at the Donje Svetice ground in the Peščenica district of Zagreb. ...

from

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

References

1991 births Living people American men's soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Cal Poly Mustangs men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players Des Moines Menace players FC Tucson players Sacramento Republic FC players NK HAŠK players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from California USL League Two players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Croatia National Premier Soccer League players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-forward-1990s-stub