Leo Stolz (born 15 February 1991) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played 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 ...

Career

Youth and college

Stolz began his career playing at

SV Pullach The SV Pullach is a Football in Germany, German Association football, association football club from the town of Pullach, Bavaria. The club's greatest success came in 2013 when it qualified for the southern division of the Bayernliga, the fifth t ...

. Soon he joined the youth system of

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

in 2004. He progressed in the youth system and became a regular starter for the club in the

Under 19 Bundesliga The Under 19 Bundesliga (German: ''A-Junioren Bundesliga'') is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions (Nord/Nordost, West und Süd/Südwest) with 14 teams each. The winner of each ...

. In 2010, he joined 1860 Munich II in the Regionalliga Süd. He made his debut for the team on 15 October 2010 in a 3–1 victory over SV Wehen Wiesbaden II. In his first season with Munich II Stolz appeared in 11 league matches as a central midfielder. Stolz was offered a senior contract with Munich 1860 in 2011 but decided to play college soccer in the United States joining

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. In his first season in the United States Stolz appeared in 18 matches and scored four goals. After a strong first season, Stolz decided to transfer to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. In three years with the Bruins, Stolz played in 63 matches and scored 20 goals and recorded 22 assists. At the end of the 2014 season, Stolz was awarded the

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 ...

recognizing him as the top college soccer player in the country. Stolz and his UCLA team reached their first College Championship final in December 2014, but lost to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

on penalties. Stolz graduated from

ESADE Business School ESADE Business School is a private Postgraduate education, graduate-level business school located in Barcelona, Spain. It is part of ESADE (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Escola Superior d'Administració i Direcció d'Empreses'', Spanish: ''Escuela ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 28 October 2017 successfully finishing his master's degree in international management.

New York Red Bulls

On 15 January 2015, Stolz was selected 18th overall by

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 ...

in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Janua ...

. Stolz signed a contract with the Red Bulls on 17 January 2015. Stolz was loaned to affiliate side

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 captained the side in its first ever match on 28 March 2015 in a 0–0 draw with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. On 4 April 2015, Stolz scored his first goal for New York Red Bulls II in a 4–1 victory 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 ...

, the first victory in club history. Stolz was released by Red Bulls at the end of the

2015 MLS season The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with M ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolz, Leo 1991 births Living people German men's footballers German expatriate men's footballers George Mason Patriots men's soccer players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players TSV 1860 Munich II players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States New York Red Bulls draft picks USL Championship players Hermann Trophy men's winners All-American college men's soccer players Footballers from Munich 21st-century German sportsmen