Daniel Arthur Quimby Cruz (born January 3, 1990) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

club

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

Career

Youth and College

Cruz was born in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights) with Din ...

. He attended junior high in

Rohnert Park, California Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

, and then moved to

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the late 1800s the area that is now Glendale was all deser ...

, where he attended

Ironwood High School Ironwood High School is a public secondary school located in Glendale, Arizona, United States, part of the Peoria Unified School District. The school opened in August 1986 with its first graduating class in 1989. Since 2005, it has offered the IB ...

, where he led his team to a 2006 State Championship. He played two years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

at the

University of Nevada-Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

. He was the first UNLV player to earn MPSF Newcomer of the Year honors in his freshman year in 2007 and was named to the all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team after scoring five goals in 2008. During his college years he also played 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 American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two duri ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

Professional

Cruz was drafted in the third round (41st overall) of the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft wa ...

by the Houston Dynamo. He made his professional debut on March 28, 2009, coming on as a substitute in Houston's game against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchis ...

. He scored his first goal for the Dynamo against DC United, he also had an assist in that game. In the 2011 season, Cruz was a big part of the Houston Dynamo team and scored a stunning goal at the end of the season against the Portland Timbers to help Houston get into the playoffs. He started in all four playoff games, including Houston's 1–0 loss to

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

MLS Cup 2011 MLS Cup 2011, the 16th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was played between the Houston Dynamo and the Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the 2011 season. The soccer match was played at the Home Depot Center in C ...

. In January 2012, Cruz was traded from Houston to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Su ...

in exchange for allocation money. On August 16, 2012, Cruz was traded to the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...

in exchange for

Lionard Pajoy Lionard Fernando Pajoy Ortiz (born June 7, 1981) is a Colombian striker who currently plays for Alianza Universidad. Club career Early Career in Colombia Pajoy began his career with Cortulua debuting with the first team during the 2004 seaso ...

and an international roster spot. On March 19, 2015, Cruz signed a loan deal with

FK Bodø/Glimt Fotballklubben Bodø/Glimt () is a Norwegian professional football club from the town of Bodø that currently plays in Eliteserien, the Norwegian top division. The club was founded in 1916 and is frequently referred to by its original club nam ...

. He made his debut against

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

on April 30, 2015, in which Bodø/Glimt lost 1–2. On February 15, 2017, Cruz signed with the

San Francisco Deltas The San Francisco Deltas were an American professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 2016, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2017. The franchise played its home games at ...

for their inaugural season in the NASL. In August 2017, he joined

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

International

Cruz represented the United States at the

FIFA U-17 World Cup The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fédératio ...

in South Korea, the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

in Brazil in 2007, appeared in seven international games for the United States U-20 national team in 2008, and played in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

in Egypt in 2009.

Coaching career

Real Monarchs

In February 2018, Cruz was announced as promoted to assistant coach of the Monarchs for the 2018 season, under

Mark Briggs Mark Jonathan Briggs (born 16 February 1982) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Sacramento Republic in the USL Championship. Playing career England and Denmark Briggs began his career with West ...

Louisville City FC

On April 27, 2021, after spending time as an assistant coach and technical director at

, Cruz was appointed as interim head coach of the club. On October 11, Cruz was officially announced to have signed a multi-year agreement as the permanent head coach for Louisville.

Personal life

Cruz made an appearance on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's show

Made Made or MADE may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Made'' (1972 film), United Kingdom * ''Made'' (2001 film), United States Music * ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016 * ''Made'' (Hawk Nelson album), 2013 * ''Made'' (Scarface album), 2007 *'' M.A.D.E. ...

, helping Michael Schwenke turn from "theater geek" into a soccer player on February 7, 2011.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Danny 1990 births Living people Association football wingers American soccer players American expatriate soccer players UNLV Rebels men's soccer players Des Moines Menace players Houston Dynamo FC players D.C. United players Philadelphia Union players FK Bodø/Glimt players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players San Francisco Deltas players Real Monarchs players Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona Sportspeople from Petersburg, Virginia Soccer players from Richmond, Virginia Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Eliteserien players North American Soccer League players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Houston Dynamo FC draft picks Expatriate footballers in Norway American expatriate sportspeople in Norway 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship players Pan American Games competitors for the United States