Ilijah Paul Gindiri (born July 26, 2002) 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

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 ...

club

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league syst ...

Career

Youth and college

Paul played soccer for a variety of clubs at youth level, spending time with local sides San Tan Legacy and Arizona Soccer Club, before joining Valparaiso United FC, helping the team to end a fifteen-year title drought for Arizona teams at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. In 2018, he left Arizona to join the

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

academy in Utah. In for the U16/17 side, Paul made sixteen appearances and led the team with ten goals. 2019 saw Paul join the Phoenix Rising academy, but also sign a USL academy contract that allowed him to retain his college eligibility. In September 2019, he was loaned to Phoenix's

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 ...

affiliate side

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 made three appearances. In late 2019, Paul joined his final academy side, the Barça Residency Academy, scoring six goals in as many appearances. In 2020, Paul committed to playing

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 ...

at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. During the 2020–21 season, which was truncated by 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 ...

, Paul only made a single appearance for the Dons. In 2021, Paul transferred to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where he went on to score 11 goals and tallying five assists in 39 appearances for the Huskies. In his sophomore season, he was a 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 th ...

Semifinalist, Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Pac-12 All-Conference First Team, and United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region First Team. During the 2022 season, Paul also played with

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. ...

side

Crossfire Redmond Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of t ...

, scoring three goals in six games. In December 2022, it was announced that Paul would leave college early and sign 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 with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, 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 sanc ...

, and enter the

2023 MLS SuperDraft The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but retained the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted via ...

Senior

On December 21, 2022, Paul was selected 7th overall in the

. Paul joined

of the

on February 3, 2025.

Honours

Larne

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

: 2023-24

References

External links

Ilijah Paul
at

Athletics
Ilijah Paul
at

Athletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Ilijah 2002 births Living people Men's association football forwards National Premier Soccer League players Phoenix Rising FC players Real Salt Lake draft picks Real Salt Lake players San Francisco Dons men's soccer players FC Tucson players USL League One players Washington Huskies men's soccer players American men's soccer players MLS Next Pro players Sportspeople from Gilbert, Arizona Soccer players from Maricopa County, Arizona American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Northern Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Larne F.C. players Sportspeople from Plateau State 21st-century American sportsmen NIFL Premiership players Real Monarchs players Crossfire Redmond players Monterey Bay FC players