Ricky Lopez-Espin (born December 2, 1995) is an American former

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

Lopez-Espin spent his entire college career at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

. He made a total of 74 appearances for the Bluejays and tallied 30 goals and 7 assists. During his senior year at Creighton, he was named USC First Team All-Great Lakes Region, Big East Conference Player of the Year, and First Team All-Big East Conference. While at college, Lopez-Espin played for

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 ...

sides Lane United and

Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 The Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 were an American semi-professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. They were the reserve club of USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies. The club is part of the Rowdies Youth Network, which consists of t ...

Professional

On January 19, 2018, Lopez-Espin was selected 33rd overall in the

2018 MLS SuperDraft The 2018 MLS SuperDraft was the nineteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. As customary, the SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the annual United Soccer Coaches convention. The 2018 UCS was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania b ...

by the

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 24, he made his professional debut for Salt Lake's

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

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 ...

, appearing as an 85th-minute substitute in a 3–2 victory over

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

. Lopez-Espin was released by Salt Lake at the end of their 2018 season. On December 12, 2018, Lopez-Espin was selected by

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

in the MLS Waiver Draft. On March 21, 2019, Lopez-Espin signed for Lansing Ignite. On June 26, 2019, Lopez and

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

mutually terminated his contract. Lopez-Espin spent a single season in

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 ...

with Fort Lauderdale CF during their 2020 season.

References

External links

* *
Creighton Bluejays bio
* 1995 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players Inter Miami CF II players Lane United FC players Lansing Ignite FC players Major League Soccer players Real Monarchs players Real Salt Lake draft picks Real Salt Lake players Soccer players from Miami Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 players USL Championship players USL League One players USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-forward-1990s-stub