Nick Besler (born May 7, 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.

Career

College

Besler spent his entire college career at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. He made a total of 72 appearances for the Fighting Irish and tallied two goals and five assists. He also helped the Fighting Irish win the 2013 College Cup.

Professional

On January 15, 2015, Besler was selected 5th overall 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 ...

by the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. On March 29, he made his professional debut for

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 ...

affiliate club

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champ ...

in a 3–1 victory over

Real Monarchs SLC Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake ...

. Besler signed with

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

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake ...

on January 2, 2017. He scored his first goal for

on March 28, 2017, in a 2–1 victory against his former club

. Besler was the captain for the club. On August 24, 2017, Besler was signed to the Monarchs'

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 ...

parent club

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 ...

. Following the 2022 season, his contract option was declined by Salt Lake.

Personal life

He is the younger brother of

Matt Besler Matthew Scott "Matt" Besler (; born February 11, 1987) is a former professional Association football, soccer player. Primarily a left-sided Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender, Besler spent the majority of his career i ...

, a retired soccer player who played for

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 ...

and

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

Honors

Portland Timbers *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

: 2015 * Western Conference (playoffs): 2015

References

External links

*
Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
1993 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's soccer players Soccer players from Overland Park, Kansas Portland Timbers draft picks Portland Timbers players Portland Timbers 2 players Real Monarchs players Real Salt Lake players USL Championship players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-midfielder-1990s-stub