Benji Michel

Benjamin Stanley Michel (born October 23, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Orlando City SC. Having played college soccer for the Portland Pilots, he was signed to a Homegrown contract by Orlando ahead of the 2019 season.

Benji Michel
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Stanley Michel[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-23) October 23, 1997
Place of birth Orlando, Florida, United States
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Orlando City
Number 19
Youth career
2013–2016 Orlando City
2016 Montverde Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Portland Pilots 53 (31)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Portland Timbers U23s 12 (10)
2019– Orlando City 38 (10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2020

Career

Youth and college

Michel grew up in Orlando, Florida and played for the Orlando City U-18s, where he scored 25 goals for the U.S. Development Academy. While at Montverde, Michel helped the team build on a record 136-game unbeaten streak, which started in 2010.[2]

He played college soccer at the University of Portland from 2016 to 2018, scoring 31 goals in 53 matches.[3] In his freshman year, Michel was named West Coast Conference (WCC) Freshman of the Year. In 2018, he was named to the USC All-American Second Team and was the first Pilot since 2002 to be named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches.[4]

In May 2018, Michel featured twice for Portland Timbers U23s during their U.S. Open Cup campaign.[5]

Orlando City

On December 31, 2018, Orlando City announced the signing of Michel to a Homegrown contract. He became the club's fifth homegrown player and the first to be born in Orlando and come up through the Development Academy.[6] He made his professional debut as a substitute on March 31, 2019 in a 2–1 defeat to D.C. United. On June 19, Michel scored his first professional goal in extra-time of Orlando's 2–1 U.S. Open Cup win over New England Revolution.[7] He scored his first MLS goal on July 13, 2019, in a 1–0 victory over Columbus Crew SC. In July 2019, Michel was selected to take part in the MLS Homegrown Game.[8]

International career

Despite being born in Orlando, Florida, Michel is eligible to play for Haiti through his Haitian parentage. On March 12, 2019, Michel received his first call up to the Haitian national team for their final CONCACAF Nations League qualifying match against Cuba.[9] However, he declined the call up.[10] On May 20, 2019, Michel was added to Haiti's preliminary 2019 Gold Cup roster.[11] In June 2019, Michel was called into the United States U23 Summer Training Camp by Jason Kreis.[12]

Career statistics

College
School Season Total
Apps Goals
Portland Pilots 2016 19 10
2017 17 10
2018 17 11
NCAA Total 53 31

Club

As of November 29, 2020[13]

Club Season League Cup Playoffs Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Orlando City 2019 MLS 17531——206
2020 215—203[lower-alpha 1]1266
Career Totals 38103120314612
  1. MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage.

References
  1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Canada" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2019 – via Bernews.
  2. "Orlando City SC Signs Homegrown Forward Benji Michel".
  3. "Benji Michel – Men's Soccer". University of Portland Athletics. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  4. Culver, Jordan; USA, Pro Soccer (December 29, 2018). "Orlando City to sign forward Benji Michel to Homegrown contract". Pro Soccer USA. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  5. Day, Danny (May 9, 2018). "Timbers U23s Dominate in 5–0 US Open Cup Win over Kitsap". Timbers U23. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  6. "Orlando City SC Signs Homegrown Forward Benji Michel | Orlando City Soccer Club".
  7. Perez, Mark (June 19, 2019). "Orlando City 2, New England Revolution 1 | 2019 US Open Cup Match Recap". MLS Soccer.
  8. "Roster announced for 2019 MLS Homegrown Game". mlssoccer.com.
  9. "Foot – Sélection : Benji Michel, le nouvel attaquant des Grenadiers". Haiti-Tempo. March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  10. Culver, Jordan; USA, Pro Soccer (March 12, 2019). "Orlando City midfielders Will Johnson, Sebas Méndez earn national team call-ups".
  11. "78 MLS players named to preliminary rosters for 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup | MLSsoccer.com".
  12. "U-23 MNT Gathers for Summer Training Camp in Herriman, Utah". US Soccer.
  13. "USA – B. Michel – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
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