Quincy Obinna Amarikwa ( ; born October 29, 1987) is an American former 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

Early career

Amarikwa attended Liberty High School. He was a member of the Bakersfield Alliance club soccer team and played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

. In 2008, he led the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. During his college years, Amarikwa also played with

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which ...

in the

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 ...

Professional

Amarikwa was drafted in the third round of the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, ...

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. He made his professional debut in San Jose's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

and scored his first

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

goal on October 7 against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

After 25 games for San Jose and one goal, he was traded to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in April 2010 in exchange for a second-round selection in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 ...

. Amarikwa made 31 league appearances for Colorado scoring three goals and was a member of the side that captured the 2010 MLS Cup. Amarikwa was waived by Colorado in June 2012. Shortly thereafter his rights were claimed through waivers by 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 ...

. He spent two weeks training with New York but never signed, instead, New York traded Amarikwa to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for a conditional draft pick on July 21. He made his league debut for Toronto in a 2–0 home defeat to

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

on July 28. Amarikwa scored his first goal for Toronto in

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

play against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

in a 3–1 home defeat. In February 2013, Amarikwa was acquired by Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2014 MLS Supplemental Draft. In June 2015, Chicago Fire traded Amarikwa to

in exchange for defender Ty Harden. He scored two goals in four minutes in his second Earthquakes appearance during the

California Clásico The California Clásico is the name given to the soccer rivalry between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes. This Major League Soccer rivalry reached its zenith from 2001 to 2005, during which time the Earthquakes and the Galaxy combined ...

against the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. Amarikwa was sidelined for the rest of the 2016 season and for the first half of the 2017 season after suffering a knee injury on September 24, 2016, against

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 ...

. He made his return to the team on July 14, 2017, in a friendly match against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

, scoring a penalty kick twelve minutes after substituting in for Simon Dawkins and securing San Jose's 4–1 victory. On October 14, 2017, he was nominated for the

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a Major League Soccer award established in 2000. The award is voted on by media, MLS players and club management. It is presented to a player who showed impressive improvement after overcoming a serious injury ...

. On August 8, 2018, Amarikwa was traded by the Earthquakes to Montreal Impact in exchange for Dominic Oduro. He made his debut for Montreal on August 11, 2018, in a game against

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 ...

. On March 1, 2019, after speculation and Amarikwa appearing at D.C. United practices, Quincy Amarikwa signed with D.C. United. Amarikwa scored his first goal for D.C. United in a friendly against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

on May 22, 2019. Amarikwa then scored his first D.C. United

goal against the

on July 12, 2019. His goal equalized the game 2-2. His contract with D.C. United ran out after the 2019 season. On September 1, 2020, Amarikwa signed with

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 ...

side

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

. On August 11, 2021, Amarikwa joined

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

Personal life

Amarikwa is a member of the UC Davis Hall of Fame. While studying there, Quincy Amarikwa met his wife Sirena Amarikwa; they were engaged in 2016 while Sirena was pursuing her professional track career, and wed in January 2017. They have two sons, Sir Amarikwa and Lord Amarikwa. Amarikwa and Ross LaBauex co-own a brand called Perfect Soccer, a Black news source for soccer. He is also Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Black Players for Change, serving as interim director when the organisation was launched.

Honors

Colorado Rapids *

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 ...

MLS Cup (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Statistics

Statistics accurate as of April 14, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amarikwa, Quincy 1987 births Living people American expatriate men's soccer players African-American soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent UC Davis Aggies men's soccer players Bakersfield Brigade players San Jose Earthquakes players Colorado Rapids players Toronto FC players Chicago Fire FC players CF Montréal players D.C. United players Las Vegas Lights FC players Oakland Roots SC players University of California, Davis alumni Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Major League Soccer players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Soccer players from Bakersfield, California American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Liberty High School (Bakersfield, California) alumni