Sidney Adam Rivera (born November 15, 1993) is a professional soccer player who plays for United Premier Soccer League side New York Braveheart SC. Born in the United States, he represents Puerto Rico internationally.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sidney Adam Rivera | ||
| Date of birth | November 15, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Staten Island, New York, United States | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | New York Braveheart | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Match Fit Academy | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Old Dominion Monarchs | 48 | (11) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Virginia Beach City | ||
| 2015 | Orlando City | 0 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Louisville City (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2015 | → Pittsburgh Riverhounds (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Puerto Rico | 36 | (5) |
| 2018 | Atlantic City | 7 | (6) |
| 2018 | Reno 1868 | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | Than Quảng Ninh | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | FC Motown | 5 | (2) |
| 2019 | Philadelphia Fury | 1 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Bangladesh Police | 9 | (5) |
| 2021 | Morris Elite SC | 5 | (2) |
| 2022– | New York Braveheart | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2021 | Puerto Rico | 10 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 October 2023 | |||
Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Rivera moved to Hampton, New Jersey and played high school soccer at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and North Hunterdon High School.[1][2]
Club career
editCollege
editRivera spent his entire college career at Old Dominion University. He made a total of 48 appearances for the Monarchs and tallied 11 goals and one assist. He led the team with nine goals in 2014, where he won the first ever Conference-USA tournament championship in Old Dominion University history while being named tournament offensive MVP. Rivera played for Virginia Beach City FC in the summer of 2014.
Professional
editOn January 20, 2015, Rivera was selected in the third round (63rd overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City.[3] While he earned a contract with Orlando, the team loaned him out on May 8 to USL affiliate club Louisville City FC.[4] He made his professional debut four days later in a 3–0 victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads.[5] Rivera went on to make 10 appearances for Louisville before leaving the team under circumstances that neither Louisville, nor Orlando would comment on.[6] On July 30, he was sent on loan to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds along with teammate, Conor Donovan, in a bid to gain more experience.[7] However, Rivera would only make 1 appearance for the Riverhounds and he was released by Orlando on November 25, 2015.[8]
On April 6, 2016, Rivera signed with NASL expansion side Puerto Rico FC.[9] In his first season with the club, Rivera found consistent playing time for the first time in his professional career, making 16 appearances and scoring 3 goals.[10] After a successful first season with the club, Rivera appeared in 20 matches for Puerto Rico FC, however, he only started 6 matches and his minutes over the course of the season decreased.[10] Due to the hiatus by both the NASL, due to operations reasons, and the team, because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, Rivera left the club at the end of the 2017 season.
After leaving Puerto Rico, Rivera had a brief stint in the semi-professional National Premier Soccer League, making 7 appearances for Atlantic City FC. Then he had a brief stint with USL Championship side, Reno 1868, where he failed to make an appearance for the club. After leaving Reno, Rivera moved to V.League 1 side Than Quang Ninh. However, despite playing and starting in the first two matches for the club, Rivera was dropped from the squad for undisclosed reasons.[11] After leaving Vietnam, Rivera returned to New Jersey where he began playing for FC Motown in the National Premier Soccer League.[12]
After the NPSL season, Rivera signed with the Philadelphia Fury of the National Independent Soccer Association, along with several of his FC Motown teammates, ahead of the league's inaugural season.[13]
Post-professional
editOn April 26, 2021, Rivera signed with USL League Two side Morris Elite SC to compete in the clubs inaugural season.[14] On May 24, 2021, he scored the first goal for the club in a 1–0 victory over F.A. Euro, the first victory in club history.
Rivera joined New York Braveheart SC of the United Premier Soccer League in 2022.[15][16]
International career
editRivera was born in the United States to a Colombian father and Cape Verdean mother. After a stint with Puerto Rico FC, he gained the option to represent the Puerto Rico national football team.[17] He made his debut for Puerto Rico on 24 March 2019 in a CONCACAF Nations League qualifier against Grenada, as a 58th-minute substitute for Héctor Ramos.[18]
International goals
edit- Scores and results Puerto Rico's goal tally first.[19]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 19 November 2019 | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico |  Anguilla |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League C |
| 2. | 2–0 |
References
edit- ^ "MLS Bio". MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "New Jersey Standout Sidney Rivera Signs With Soccer Monarchs" Archived August 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Old Dominion Monarchs soccer, February 5, 2011. Accessed August 16, 2016. "Old Dominion University head men's soccer coach Alan Dawson announced the signing of All-State midfielder Sidney Rivera (Hampton, NJ.) of North Hunterdon High School to a letter of intent to play for the Monarchs in the 2011 season."
- ^ "Orlando City Select Two In Final Two Rounds Of The SuperDraft". OrlandoCitySC.com. Orlando City SC. January 20, 2015. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "Louisville Adds Rivera On Loan From Orlando". USLsoccer.com. United Soccer League. May 8, 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "LOU4 - United Soccer League". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015.
- ^ Citro, Michael (July 23, 2015). "Sidney Rivera Out at Louisville City?". The Mane Land. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Orlando Sentinel (July 30, 2015). "Orlando City loans forward Sidney Rivera to Pittsburgh Riverhounds". OrlandoSentinel.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
- ^ "Tally Hall, Lewis Neal among 8 cut from Orlando City". O-Town's 11. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ "MLS Experienced Player Trevor Spangenberg And Sidney Rivera Join The Puerto Rico Football Club". PuertoRicoFC.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ a b "Puerto Rico - S. Rivera - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ "Quảng Ninh axe American striker Sydney Rivera after two matches". vietnamnews.vn. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ "Team Roster – FC Motown". Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ Dolgenos, Charlie. "Franklin Field will welcome the return of professional soccer to Philadelphia". www.thedp.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- ^ "Puerto Rico National Team Player Sidney Rivera Joins Morris Elite". morriselitesoccer.com. April 26, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
- ^ "@ny_braveheartsc have booked a @UPSLNortheast Playoffs spot". Twitter.com. United Premier Soccer League Northeast. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ Battista, Michael (September 4, 2023). "USOC qualifying starts this week in New York". HudsonRiverBlue.com. Hudson River Blue. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ "Criolos no Estrangeiro: Futebol Porto Rico – Golo de Sidney Rivera garante vitória da seleção do Porto Rico". criolosports.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ "Puerto Rica v Grenada game report". CONCACAF. March 24, 2019. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Sidney Rivera". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
External links
edit- Official website
- Sidney Rivera at Major League Soccer
- Sidney Rivera at National-Football-Teams.com
- Sidney Rivera at uslleaguetwo.com