Ray Saari (born April 18, 1995) 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.

Early life

Saari was raised in the

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

area and attended Oak Park High School. He was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an c ...

at the age of 15 and underwent several months of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

before returning to the high school's soccer team.

Career

College

Saari spent his entire college career at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

. He was a starter all four years. He made a total of 69 appearances, and tallied 12 goals and 12 assists. His sophomore season he was named to the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

All-conference team. In his senior season despite missing five matches, Saari finished as the team's second leading scorer and earned a spot on the NSCAA All-East region first team. Saari spent three seasons with NPSL side

Tulsa Athletic Tulsa Athletic is an American soccer team and are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. The 2023 NPSL National Champion, 2013 was their inaugural season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is a national league at the fourth tie ...

, playing a pivotal role in winning conference titles in two of his three seasons there. His advanced attacking role with the club yielded nearly a point a game and showcased his creative ability in the final third. Saari is among the all-time point leaders at the club registering 12 goals and 13 assists. He also played in the

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 ...

for

Houston Dutch Lions Miami Dutch Lions FC is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Lions competes in National Premier Soccer League, as a member of the Sunshine Conference. The club was founded in Conroe, Texas in 2011, before ...

Professional

On March 22, 2017, Saari signed his first professional soccer contract, joining

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 ...

club

Seattle Sounders FC 2 The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third ...

. He made his professional debut four days later in a 2–1 defeat to

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. On September 13, 2018, Saari was released from Seattle Sounders FC 2 having played in 39 matches over two seasons for S2 and recording four goals and six assists. On January 3, 2019, Saari joined USL Championship side

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. On November 12, 2019, Saari returned to the Kansas City area and signed a contract with the Kansas City Comets of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

. Saari signed with USL Championship club

OKC Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer lea ...

on February 3, 2020.

References

External links

*
S2 bioTulsa Golden Hurricane bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saari, Ray 1995 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Miami Dutch Lions FC players National Premier Soccer League players Sacramento Republic FC players Tacoma Defiance players OKC Energy FC players Soccer players from Kansas City, Missouri Tulsa Athletic players Kansas City Comets (2010–) players Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's soccer players USL Championship players USL League Two players Major Arena Soccer League players 21st-century American sportsmen