David Loera (born September 10, 1998) is a 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 ...

. Born in Spain, he has represented the United States at youth level.

Career

Early career

As a youth, Loera played with the Orlando City Development Academy team. In July 2016, Loera made his

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at ...

debut in

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 ...

, coming on as a 54th-minute substitute against Louisville City, the first player to appear for Orlando's USL affiliate while still in the academy. He made seven appearances for the team between 2016 and 2017.

College career

In February 2017, Loera signed a letter of intent to play

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 ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. In three seasons at NC State, Loera started in all 57 of his appearances for the Wolfpack, scoring nine goals and adding 15 assists. Ahead of his final season, he was named to the

MAC Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

Watch List and reached No. 13 on Top Drawer Soccer's Men's National Top-100 list, the highest ranked player in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

Orlando City

Ahead of the 2020 season, Loera returned to Orlando City, signing a multi-year Homegrown contract with the club. He made his professional debut on 3 October 2020 as a stoppage time substitute in a 3–1 win over

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. On September 9, 2021, Loera joined Phoenix Rising 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 loan for the rest of the season. Loera had his contract option declined by Orlando City at the end of the 2021 season.

San Antonio FC

On January 11, 2022, Loera signed with USL Championship club

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio FC ...

Lexington SC

Loera joined

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021 as an expansion side in USL League One (the third division of the United States soccer league system), the clu ...

on January 26, 2024. He was released by Lexington following their 2024 season.

International

In 2016, Loera was called up to the United States U19 squad by head coach

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country a ...

for the Copa de Atlantico tournament. He played in all three games as the United States lost 1–0 to Spain U19, 5–0 to France U19, and 1–0 to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Career statistics

Club

''As of November 8, 2021''

References

External links

* *
U.S. Soccer bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loera, David 1998 births Living people Footballers from Zaragoza American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players Spanish men's footballers Spanish emigrants to the United States Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players Phoenix Rising FC players Homegrown Players (MLS) NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players SIMA Águilas players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Orlando, Florida USL Championship players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North Carolina FC U23 players San Antonio FC players Lexington SC players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Spanish sportsmen