Sam Junqua
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Samuel Junqua | ||
Date of birth | November 9, 1996 | ||
Place of birth | Saratoga, California, United States | ||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Houston Dynamo | ||
Number | 29 | ||
Youth career | |||
De Anza Force | |||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2018 | California Golden Bears | 68 | (0) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017 | FC Golden State Force | 7 | (0) |
2018 | San Francisco Glens | 6 | (1) |
2019– | Houston Dynamo | 46 | (1) |
2019 | → Rio Grande Valley FC (loan) | 17 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 15, 2022 |
Samuel Junqua (born November 9, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo.
Career
Youth & College
Junqua attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played college soccer for four years between 2015 and 2018, making 68 appearances and tallying 3 assists.[1] He was named to the 2018 All-Pac-12 third team.[2]
While in college, Junqua played in the PDL with FC Golden State Force[3] and San Francisco Glens.[4]
Professional career
On January 11, 2019, Junqua was drafted 8th overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo and was signed by the club on January 22, 2019.[5] Junqua made his Dynamo debut on June 18, getting the start in a 3–2 loss to Minnesota United in a US Open Cup match. He made his first appearance in a continental competition and his second overall appearance with the Dynamo on July 24, coming on as a sub in a Leagues Cup match with Club America.[6]
Junqua spent most of the 2019 season on loan with the Dynamo's USL Championship affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC. He made his first appearance for the Toros on March 16, playing the full 90 in a 2–0 loss to Fresno FC.[6] He would go on to make 17 appearances with RGVFC in his first pro season.
On July 13, 2020, Junqua made his first appearance of the season and first MLS appearance of his career, coming on as a substitute in a 3–3 draw with LAFC. He scored his first goal for the Dynamo on October 3 in a 2–1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. He made his first career MLS start on October 7 in a 2–0 win over FC Dallas. Junqua finished the year with 9 appearances and 1 goal in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] It was a poor season for Houston as a team, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs again.[8]
Junqua missed the first 8 games of the 2021 season after suffering a concussion in the final preseason match.[9] He made his first appearance of the season on June 19, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against LAFC.[9][10] On July 3, Junqua picked up his first career MLS assist in a 1–1 draw with FC Cincinnati.[10] He ended the season with 22 appearances, 18 of them starts, and 1 assist, splitting time playing as both a left-back and as a center-back.[9][10] The season was another disappointing one for Houston, with the Dynamo finishing last in the West for 2nd straight season and failing to qualify for the playoffs once again.[11]
Career statistics
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
FC Golden State Force | 2017 | PDL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
San Francisco Glens | 2018 | PDL | 6 | 1 | — | – | — | 6 | 1 | |||
Houston Dynamo | 2019 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
2020 | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||||
2021 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||||
Total | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
Rio Grande Valley FC (loan) | 2019 | USLC | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
Career total | 61 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 2 |
- ^ Appearance in Leagues Cup
References
- ^ "Sam Junqua - Men's Soccer -2015 M Soccer Roster". calbears.com. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ "Pac-12 announces Men's Soccer All-Conference honors | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
- ^ a b "FC Golden State Force 2017 Roster - Samuel Junqua". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ a b "San Francisco Glens 2018 Roster - Samuel Junqua". uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ "Houston Dynamo sign top SuperDraft selection Sam Junqua". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
- ^ a b "USA - S. Junqua - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- ^ "Sam Junqua 2020 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
- ^ "Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
- ^ a b c Roepkin, Corey (July 2, 2021). "Sam Junqua's return from injury gives Dynamo more options at centerback". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "Sam Junqua 2021 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "Sam Junqua". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ "Sam Junqua Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- ^ "USA - S. Junqua - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- 1996 births
- Living people
- American soccer players
- Association football defenders
- California Golden Bears men's soccer players
- FC Golden State Force players
- Houston Dynamo FC draft picks
- Houston Dynamo FC players
- People from Saratoga, California
- Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players
- San Francisco Glens players
- Soccer players from California
- Sportspeople from Santa Clara County, California
- USL Championship players
- USL League Two players
- Major League Soccer players