Alejandro "Alex" Lara (born September 15, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for USL Championship club Monterey Bay FC.

Alex Lara
Lara with Hartford Athletic in 2021
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Lara
Date of birth (1998-09-15) September 15, 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth Azusa, California, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Monterey Bay FC
Number 4
Youth career
2015–2016 Arsenal FC (California)
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Mt. SAC Mounties 20 (0)
2017–2019 Cal State Northridge Matadors 53 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Weston FC 3 (0)
2019 Ventura County Fusion 9 (1)
2020–2021 Hartford Athletic 28 (2)
2022 Las Vegas Lights 33 (1)
2023– Monterey Bay FC 17 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 22, 2023

Career edit

Youth, college and amateur edit

Lara played one season with USSDA side Arsenal in 2015–2016, before playing college soccer at Mt. San Antonio College.[1] After one season at Mt. SAC, Lara transferred to California State University, Northridge, where he played three more seasons. During his time with the Matadors, Lara made 53 appearances, scoring 2 goals and tallying 2 assists.[2]

While at college, Lara also appeared in the USL League Two for both Weston FC in 2017,[3] and Ventura County Fusion during their 2019 season.[4]

Professional edit

On December 13, 2019, Lara signed his professional contract with USL Championship side Hartford Athletic.[5] He made his debut on July 17, 2020, appearing as an injury time substitute during a 1–0 win over New York Red Bulls II.[6] On September 30, Lara scored his first professional goal in Hartford's 3–2 win over Philadelphia Union II.[7] Lara finished the 2020 season fourth on the team in blocks (4), clearances (33), interceptions (23) and tackles won (13) in 13 games played. He re signed with Hartford for the 2021 season in December 2020.[8] On March 3, 2022, Lara signed with USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights.

Lara joined Monterey Bay FC on December 27, 2022.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "Alex Lara". Mt. San Antonio College.
  2. ^ "Alex Lara – 2019 – Men's Soccer". CSUN Athletics.
  3. ^ "Weston FC – 2017 Regular Season – Roster – # – Alejandro Lara -". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
  4. ^ "Ventura County Fusion | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com.
  5. ^ Athletic, Hartford (December 13, 2019). "Hartford Athletic Signs Defender Alex Lara". Hartford Athletic | Connecticut's Professional Soccer Team.
  6. ^ "New York Red Bulls II vs. Hartford Athletic - July 17, 2020 | USLChampionship.com". www.uslchampionship.com.
  7. ^ "Barrera's lucky strike lifts Athletic". journalinquirer.com. October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Hartford Athletic re-sign Gabriel Torres, Alex Lara". journalinquirer.com. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. ^ Vargo, Steven. "Monterey Bay F.C. Agrees to Contract with Defender Alex Lara". MontereyBayFC.com. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

External links edit