Miguel Angel "Mikey" Lopez Jr. (born February 20, 1993) is an American 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 currently plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

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 Portland Hearts of Pine.

Career

College and amateur

Born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Lopez attended the St. Stephens Academy in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas when he was in seventh grade in order to attract college scouts. Lopez then attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

for which he played for the university's soccer team, the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

. While playing with the Tar Heels Lopez led his team to the

2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 48 teams to determine the champion of the 2011 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The 53rd edition of the tournament began on November 17, 2011 and ...

in which the Tar Heels won against the

Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the Nati ...

and he was named the ACC Freshman Player of the Year. Overall in two seasons with the Tar Heels, Lopez scored five goals and notched up five assists. Lopez also made one appearance for

USL 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 ...

club

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of th ...

in 2011.

Sporting Kansas City

On January 17, 2013, Lopez was selected as the 14th overall draft pick by

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

in the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draf ...

. Lopez made his debut for Sporting KC in a 2–0 win over the

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round on May 29, 2013.

Orlando City (loan)

On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Lopez would join Sporting

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

affiliate Orlando City on loan for the entire season. He made his debut for Orlando City on April 5, 2014.

OKC Energy (loan)

In early June 2014, Sporting Kansas City transferred Lopez' loan contract to Oklahoma City Energy FC, where he earned immediate playing time.

New York City FC

On January 26, 2016,

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

announced the signing of Lopez. He made his debut on March 6, 2016, replacing Tony Taylor in the 69th minute of a 4–3 win over

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Lopez was released by New York at the end of the 2017 season.

San Antonio

On January 26, 2018, Lopez signed with

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 ...

side

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 ...

for the 2018 season.

Birmingham Legion

On November 13, 2018, it was announced that Lopez would join Birmingham Legion ahead of their debut

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 ...

season. He left Birmingham following their 2024 season.

Portland Hearts of Pine

On December 28, 2024, it was announced that Lopez would join Portland Hearts of Pine ahead of their debut

season.

International

Lopez was born in Dallas to Mexican parents. Lopez was first called into the United States U20 national team in February 2013 and was a member of the squad that finished second at the

2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2013 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place between February 18 and March 3, 2013. The CONCACAF U-20 Championship determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Wo ...

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Mikey Lopez
at Portland Hearts of Pine {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Mikey 1993 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders American sportspeople of Mexican descent Major League Soccer players New York City FC players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players OKC Energy FC players Orange County Blue Star players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players People from Mission, Texas Sportspeople from Hidalgo County, Texas San Antonio FC players Birmingham Legion FC players Portland Hearts of Pine players Soccer players from Texas Sporting Kansas City draft picks Sporting Kansas City players USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen