Kalil ElMedkhar (born August 18, 1999) is an American soccer player who currently plays for

Loudoun United FC Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which ...

in the

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 ...

Playing career

Youth

ElMedkhar joined 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 ...

YSC Academy in 2013, where he played for five years.

College and amateur

In 2017, ElMedkhar attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

to play

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 ...

. In four seasons with the Wilcats, ElMedkhar made 66 appearances, scoring 20 goals and tallying 21 assists. Accolades earned during his time in college saw ElMedkhar named to United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team and All-C-USA First Team in 2018 and 2019, as well as to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2019. Prior to the start of his junior year season, ElMedkhar was also named C-USA Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year, to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and the C-USA Preseason Team. ElMedkhar also appeared for

USL League Two 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 ...

side

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

in both 2018 and 2019, making 22 appearances and scoring 5 goals across the regular season and playoffs.

Professional

On January 14, 2021, ElMedkhar signed a two-year deal with

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

side

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the leag ...

after Dallas acquired his homegrown player rights from

in exchange for $50,000 of General Allocation Money, with further Allocation Money dependence on ElMedkhar meeting certain performance metrics. He made his professional debut on May 8, 2021, starting for Dallas's

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...

affiliate side

North Texas SC North Texas Soccer Club 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 FC Dallas. While the senior club ...

against Chattanooga Red Wolves in a 1–0 loss. Following the 2022 season, ElMedkhar's contract option was declined by Dallas. On January 12, 2023, ElMedkhar signed with D.C. United affiliate club

Loudoun United Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History On July 18, 2018, the team was of ...

Personal

ElMedkhar was born in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, but also holds Syrian citizenship as his father emigrated from Syria to study medicine at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

References

1999 births American men's soccer players American people of Syrian descent Men's association football midfielders FC Dallas players Homegrown Players (MLS) Kentucky Wildcats men's soccer players Living people North Texas SC players Loudoun United FC players People from Middletown, Delaware Sportspeople from New Castle County, Delaware Reading United AC players Soccer players from Delaware USL League One players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players {{US-footy-midfielder-stub