Aaron Long (soccer)

Aaron Ray Long (born October 12, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for New York Red Bulls.

Aaron Long

Long representing the United States on June 9, 2019
Personal information
Full name	Aaron Ray Long[1]
Date of birth	(1992-10-12) October 12, 1992
Place of birth	Oak Hills, California, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2]
Playing position(s)	Centre Back
Club information
Current team	New York Red Bulls
Number	33
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2013	UC Riverside Highlanders	71	(13)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	FC Tucson	17	(3)
2014	Portland Timbers	0	(0)
2014	→ Sacramento Republic (loan)	2	(0)
2014	→ Orange County Blues (loan)	3	(0)
2014	Seattle Sounders FC	0	(0)
2015	Seattle Sounders FC 2	27	(1)
2016	New York Red Bulls II	22	(2)
2016	→ New York Red Bulls (loan)	0	(0)
2017–	New York Red Bulls	90	(6)
National team^‡
2018–	United States	17	(3)
Honours Representing  United States Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2019
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 11, 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 1, 2020

Early career

Long graduated from Serrano High School where he lettered in both football and soccer.[3] Long played four years of college soccer at UC Riverside between 2010 and 2013, recording 13 goals and 5 assists during those years.[4] While at college, Long also appeared for USL PDL club FC Tucson during their 2012 and 2013 seasons.

Professional career

Portland Timbers

Long was drafted by Portland Timbers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.[5] After signing with Portland, Long was loaned to their USL Pro affiliate Sacramento Republic, where he made his debut on March 29, 2014 in a 1–1 draw against LA Galaxy II.[6] He also played for Orange County Blues during the 2014 season on a short-term loan.

Seattle Sounders

Long was released by Portland on July 2, 2014.[7] He went on to join Seattle Sounders FC during the 2014 season, but did not make an appearance with the first team. On March 14, 2015 Long signed with Seattle Sounders FC 2.[8] On July 12, 2015 Long scored his first goal as a professional in a 4–0 victory over Arizona United SC.[9] He was a regular starter for Sounders 2 playing as a midfielder before being converted to centerback, appearing in 28 matches and recording one goal and two assists.

New York Red Bulls

Long with the New York Red Bulls II in 2016.

Long went on trial with New York Red Bulls during the 2016 pre-season, and on March 10, 2016 signed with affiliate club New York Red Bulls II.[10] Long made his official debut for the club appearing as a starter in a 2–2 draw against Toronto FC II.[11] On June 19, 2016 Long scored his first goal for the club helping them to a 2–2 draw at Orlando City B.[12] On June 26, 2016 Long helped New York to a 4–1 victory against the Wilmington Hammerheads scoring the club's second goal of the match.[13]

On August 16, 2016, Long made his debut for the Red Bulls first team, appearing as a starter in a 1–1 draw against Alianza F.C. in the CONCACAF Champions League.[14] On October 2, 2016, Long scored two goals to help New York Red Bulls II advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2016 USL Playoffs in a 4–0 victory over Orlando City B. [15] On October 18, 2016 Long was named to the 2016 USL All-League First Team.[16] Days later Long helped the club to a 5–1 victory over Swope Park Rangers in the 2016 USL Cup Final.[17] On November 1, 2016 Long was named as the 2016 USL Defender of the Year after leading a defense that conceded the fewest goals in the league during the regular season.[18]

On September 2, 2017, Long scored his first goal with New York Red Bulls in a 2–2 draw at FC Dallas.[19] He ended his first full season with the first team appearing in 41 matches and scoring 1 goal, establishing himself as a first choice center-back.

On March 31, 2018, Long scored his first goal of the 2018 season for the New York Red Bulls in a 4–3 loss to Orlando City SC.[20] On June 6, 2018, Long scored the second goal of the match in New York's 4–0 derby win over New York City FC in the fourth round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.[21] On June 23, 2018 Long scored another goal in a 3–0 victory over FC Dallas.[22] On November 7, Long was named MLS defender of the year after leading the Red Bull's defense in only conceding 33 goals all season long as the club captured the 2018 MLS Supporters' Shield.[23]

International career

On September 2, 2018, Long received his first call up to the U.S. national team. He made his first international appearance in a 1–1 draw against Peru. The following year, he captained the national team in a 3–0 friendly victory against Panama on January 27, 2019.[24] In June 2019, Long was called up to his first international tournament when Gregg Berhalter named him to the final roster for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[25] On June 22, Long scored his first two international goals in a Gold Cup victory over Trinidad and Tobago.[26]

Honors

Club

New York Red Bulls II

• USL Cup: 2016

New York Red Bulls

• MLS Supporters' Shield (1): 2018

Individual

• USL Defender of the Year: 2016[18]
• MLS Defender of the Year: 2018[27]
• MLS Best XI: 2018[28]
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2019[29]

Career statistics

Club

As of October 25, 2019

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
USA					Open Cup		Playoffs		North America		Total
Portland Timbers	2014	Major League Soccer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sacramento Republic (loan)	2014	United Soccer League	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Orange County Blues (loan)	2014	United Soccer League	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Seattle Sounders FC	2014	Major League Soccer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Seattle Sounders FC 2	2015	United Soccer League	27	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	30	1
	Total		27	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	30	1
New York Red Bulls II	2016	United Soccer League	22	2	0	0	4	2	0	0	26	4
	Total		22	2	0	0	4	2	0	0	26	4
New York Red Bulls	2016[30]	Major League Soccer	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
	2017		31	1	5	0	3	0	2	0	41	1
	2018		34	3	1	1	4	0	6	0	45	4
	2019		24	2	0	0	1	0	4	0	29	2
	2020		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		89	6	6	1	8	0	15	0	118	7
Career total			146	9	8	1	13	2	15	0	182	12

International

As of February 1, 2020

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States	2018	2	0
	2019	14	3
	2020	1	0
Total	17	3

International goals

As of matches played November 15, 2019. United States score listed first, score column indicates score after each Long goal.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	June 22, 2019	FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, United States	Trinidad and Tobago	1–0	6–0	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2				6–0
3	November 15, 2019	Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States	Canada	3–0	4–1	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A

References

1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: United States" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 16. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Bernews.
2. https://www.newyorkredbulls.com/players/aaron-long
3. "MLS profile". MLS Soccer. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
4. "The Official Athletics Site of University of California – Riverside". gohighlanders.com.
5. Michael A Orr. "Portland Timbers Select Aaron Long with 36th Pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft". Stumptown Footy.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. "Portland Timbers waive midfielder Aaron Long". Portland Timbers.
8. "Sounders FC 2 sign defender Aaron Long and forward Sam Garza". soundersfc.com.
9. "S2 Returns to Top of West, Blanks Arizona". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015.
10. "New York Red Bulls II Sign Aaron Long". newyorkredbulls.com.
11. "Allen Leads Red Bulls II Rally in 2–2 Draw". USLSoccer.com.
12. "Da Silva, OCB Fight for Draw Against NYRBII". USLSoccer.com.
13. "MATCH RECAP: New York Red Bulls II 4, Wilmington Hammerheads 0". NewYorkRedBulls.com.
14. "Alianza FC, 1 vs. New York Red Bulls, 1". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
15. "USL Match Recap: NYRB II Advances to Conference Semifinals with Win over Orlando City B". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
16. "2016 USL All-League Teams Unveiled". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
17. "Allen's Hat Trick Leads Red Bulls II to USL Cup". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
18. "New York's Long Named USL Defender of the Year". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
19. "New York Earns a Draw in Dallas". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
20. "Orlando City SC 4, New York Red Bulls 3 2018 MLS Match Recap". mlssoccer.com. March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
21. "New York Red Bulls Bounce Back and Defeat New York City FC in the U.S. Open Cup". newyorkredbulls.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
22. "New York Red Bulls 3, FC Dallas 0". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
23. Bogert, Tom (November 7, 2018). "New York Red Bulls' Aaron Long wins 2018 MLS Defender of the Year award". Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
24. https://www.newyorkredbulls.com/post/2019/01/27/aaron-long-captains-usmnt-against-panama
25. "Berhalter Names 23-Player Roster For 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup". USSoccer.com.
26. "Zardes Scores twice, US rocks Trinidad and Tobago 6–0". AP.com.
27. Bogert, Tom (November 7, 2018). "New York Red Bulls' Aaron Long wins 2018 MLS Defender of the Year award". Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
28. "2018 MLS Best XI". MLS Soccer. November 11, 2018.
29. "2019 Concacaf Gold Cup – Best XI". goldcup.org. July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
30. Loan

External links

• Aaron Long at Major League Soccer
• Sounders FC S2 Profile
• Aaron Long at Soccerway