Kevin Politz (born March 22, 1996) is an American former

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.

Career

Youth

Politz was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, but grew up in the Morganville section of

Marlboro Township, New Jersey Marlboro Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located within the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York metr ...

, where he attended

Marlboro High School Marlboro High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the six secondary schools of t ...

and was a member of the

New York Red Bulls Academy The New York Red Bulls Academy is the multi-layered youth system of the New York Red Bulls. It is the first cost-free program in Major League Soccer that provides a professional soccer training environment for youth players in the New York Tri-S ...

. He was also a member of the US Soccer residency program at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

. He attended college at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

and played on the Demon Deacons soccer team for three seasons, making 72 appearances, scoring 3 goals and tallying 1 assist. In 2017, Politz was named an All-American and the ACC Defender of the Year. While in college, Politz appeared for

Premier Development League 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 featu ...

side

New York Red Bulls U-23 The New York Red Bulls U-23 is an American soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. It is part of the official De ...

New York Red Bulls

On January 3, 2018, Politz signed a homegrown contract with the

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 March 15, 2018, the New York Red Bulls entered into a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

agreement with

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

, and Politz was listed on the Red Bulls II

2018 USL season The 2018 USL season was the eighth season of the United Soccer League and second under Division II sanctioning. The previous season, the USL had provisional Div. II sanctioning from the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) along with t ...

roster. He made his professional debut on March 17, 2018, for

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

, coming on as a second half substitution in a 2–1 win over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

. Politz and Red Bull II finished in 5th place in the Eastern Conference standings. Red Bull II advanced to the USL Championship Eastern Conference finals by defeating

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

and

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

on the road by 1-0 scorelines before falling to eventual USL Championship champions,

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

. Politz was released by the Red Bulls at the end of their 2018 season.

Greenville Triumph

In February 2019 Politz signed with

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 ...

team

Greenville Triumph SC Greenville Triumph SC is a professional association football, soccer team based in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The club began play in USL League One in 2019. History The formation of USL D3 was first announced in April 2017, and ...

. Politz scored the game-winning goal for Greenville in the team's inaugural home match victory over Lansing Ignite, it was Politz's first professional goal and he was named to the USL one team of the week. For the 2019 season he appeared in 27 of the team's 28 games, starting 25 of them. Greenville advanced to the USL League One final, falling to

North Texas SC North Texas Soccer Club is a professional soccer club that competes in MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club FC Dallas. North Texas SC currently ...

in the championship match.

Hartford Athletic

On December 19, 2019, Greenville transferred Politz to

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 ...

team

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

. In his second match with the team he scored his second career professional goal. Politz started 14 of 16 regular season games, helping Hartford finish with the second most points in the USL Championship. Politz started in Hartford's first ever playoff game, a 1–0 home loss to

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

Toronto FC II

On May 5, 2021, Politz joined

side

. He scored his first goal for the team in a 1–0 victory on October 8 against

New England Revolution II New England Revolution II is a professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club ...

International career

In 2012, Politz made one appearance for the United States U17 team.

Career statistics

Honors

Club

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

(1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

* *
Wake Forest University bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politz, Kevin 1996 births Living people American men's soccer players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players New York Red Bulls U-23 players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players Men's association football defenders USL League Two players USL Championship players Marlboro High School alumni Sportspeople from Marlboro Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from New Haven, Connecticut Soccer players from New Haven County, Connecticut Soccer players from Monmouth County, New Jersey Greenville Triumph SC players USL League One players Hartford Athletic players Homegrown Players (MLS) Toronto FC II players 21st-century American sportsmen