Sean Okoli
Sean Ugochukwu "Ugo" Okoli (born February 3, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for Orange County SC in the USL Championship.
_(cropped).jpg.webp) Okoli playing for FC Cincinnati in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sean Ugochukwu Okoli | ||
| Date of birth | February 3, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Federal Way, Washington, United States | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Orange County SC | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2010 | Washington Premier FC | ||
| 2010–2011 | Seattle Sounders FC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 61 | (24) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Seattle Sounders FC U-23 | 14 | (6) |
| 2014 | Seattle Sounders FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Orange County Blues (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2015 | New England Revolution | 5 | (0) |
| 2016 | FC Cincinnati | 29 | (16) |
| 2017 | New York City FC | 16 | (1) |
| 2018 | Landskrona BoIS | 9 | (1) |
| 2018 | Jerv | 12 | (1) |
| 2019 | Pinzgau Saalfelden | 9 | (3) |
| 2020– | Orange County SC | 15 | (7) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010 | United States U18 | 6 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 5, 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 14, 2014 | |||
Career
Early career
Born in Federal Way, Washington, Okoli was a part of the Seattle Sounders FC Academy before attending college at Wake Forest University in 2011.[1] While playing for the Demon Deacons Okoli earned All-ACC honors in all three seasons he attended the college and scored 24 goals with 9 assists during his time there.[1] While playing at Wake Forest, Okoli also played in the USL PDL with the Seattle Sounders FC U-23 side in 2012 and 2013.[2] He was also one of the first Academy players to play for the Seattle Sounders reserve side in the MLS Reserve League in 2011.[2]
Professional
In January 2014, Okoli, along with academy teammate Aaron Kovar, signed a professional contract with Seattle Sounders FC.[1] He made his debut for the Sounders on March 8 in the team's Major League Soccer opener against Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field when he came on in the 86th minute for Lamar Neagle. He then contributed to the teams winning goal in the 93rd minute as they beat Sporting KC 1–0.[3]
In January 2015, the Sounders traded Okoli's rights to New England Revolution in order to trade up in the MLS SuperDraft and select Northwestern goal keeper Tyler Miller.[4][5]
After his release from New England, Okoli signed with United Soccer League side FC Cincinnati for the 2016 season.[6] Okoli led the USL in goals (16) for the 2016 season and was awarded the league's Golden Boot.[7] and Most Valuable Player award.[8]
After spending a season with FC Cincinnati, Okoli moved back to Major League Soccer, signing with New York City FC on December 5, 2016.[9] New York released Okoli at the end of the 2017 season.[10]
Okoli signed with FK Jerv from Norway in August 2018, but left the club again at the end of the year.[11]
In July 2019, Okoli joined Austrian Austrian Regionalliga West side Pinzgau Saalfelden.[12]
Okoli signed with Orange County SC on February 19, 2020.[13]
Personal life
Okoli is of Nigerian descent.[14]
Career statistics
- As of 8 October 2017[15]
| Club | Season | League | Postseason | U.S. Open Cup | CONCACAF | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC U-23 | 2012 | USL PDL | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | 10 | 4 | |||
| 2013 | USL PDL | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | ||||
| U-23 Total | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2014 | MLS | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| New England Revolution | 2015 | MLS | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| FC Cincinnati | 2016 | USL | 29 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 16 | |
| NYCFC | 2017 | MLS | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |
| Career total | 67 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 24 | ||
References
- Mayers, Josh. "Sounders sign homegrown players Aaron Kovar and Sean Okoli". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- "Sounders FC Signs Aaron Kovar and Sean Okoli". Seattle Sounders FC. March 8, 2014.
- "Seattle Sounders 1-0 Sporting Kansas City (March 8, 2014)". Major League Soccer. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- "Sounders pick Roldan, Miller, Fisher in '15 Draft". Sounder At Heart.
- "News | MLSsoccer.com".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "USL Golden Boot – Sean Okoli, FC Cincinnati". Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- Corr, Charlie. "Okoli Shines in Limelight for FC Cincinnati". USL. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
- "NYCFC Sign USL MVP Sean Okoli". New York City FC. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- "New York City FC Announce Roster Options for 2018 | New York City FC".
- Overganger i OBOS-ligaen vinter 2019, sportshjornet.com, 13 December 2018
- "Fußball im Pinzgau: FC Pinzgau Saalfelden: Der Kader und die Ziele". meinbezirk.at.
- "GOLDEN RETURN: Orange County Signs 2016 MVP Okoli". USLChampionship.com Staff. February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- "New England sign Nigerian Sean Okoli - Nigeria". African Football.
- Sean Okoli at Soccerway
