Shane O'Neill (soccer)

Shane Edward O'Neill (born September 2, 1993) is an Irish-American soccer player who plays for Seattle Sounders FC in MLS.

Shane O'Neill
O'Neill in 2015
Personal information
Full name Shane Edward O'Neill
Date of birth (1993-09-02) September 2, 1993
Place of birth Midleton, Cork, Ireland
Position(s) Defender
Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Seattle Sounders FC
Number 27
Youth career
2009–2012 Colorado Rapids
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Colorado Rapids 52 (1)
2015–2017 Apollon Limassol 0 (0)
2015 → Royal Excel Mouscron (loan) 0 (0)
2016 → Cambridge United (loan) 2 (0)
2016–2017 → NAC Breda (loan) 25 (1)
2017–2018 Excelsior 1 (0)
2018–2019 Orlando City 24 (0)
2020– Seattle Sounders FC 18 (0)
National team‡
2012–2013 United States U20 12 (2)
2014–2016 United States U23 9 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of February 10, 2017

Club career

Colorado Rapids

O'Neill joined the U.S. Soccer Development Academy with the Colorado Rapids youth system in 2009. He led the Rapids U18 team in scoring in 2011–12 with 10 goals in 15 games, helping them reach the playoffs.

O'Neill originally signed to play college soccer at the University of Virginia, however on June 19, 2012, O'Neill signed with the Colorado Rapids as a Home Grown Player.[1] Three months later, he made his professional debut in a 3–0 victory over the Portland Timbers, coming on as an 86th minute substitute for Jeff Larentowicz.[2] O'Neill became a regular starter in 2013 and received strong reviews, earning the Rapids' Young Player of the Year award[3] and a nomination for U.S. Soccer Young Athlete of the Year[4] as the Rapids returned to the playoffs. His first career goal came in a 4–1 home win over Montreal Impact on May 25, 2014.

Move to Europe

On August 7, 2015, O'Neill was bought by Cypriot club Apollon Limassol for an undisclosed fee.[5] On August 31, 2015 he was loaned out to Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz in Belgium.[6][7] The loan was cut short on December 23, 2015, and he returned to Limassol having not made an appearance for the Belgian club. He had subsequent loan spells with League 2 side Cambridge United and NAC Breda in Jupiler League, never featuring for Apollon Limassol.

O'Neill joined Excelsior on a one-year deal for the 2017–18 season.[8]

Orlando City

In June 2018, O'Neill returned to MLS when he signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Orlando City.[9] He made his debut in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal defeat to Philadelphia Union on July 18 and made his MLS debut for the club three days later at Columbus. On November 21, 2019, it was announced O'Neill had his contract option for the 2020 season declined by Orlando as part of the end-of-season roster decisions.[10]

Seattle Sounders FC

On January 14, 2020, O'Neill signed with Seattle Sounders FC.[11] O'Neill made his Sounders debut on February 20 coming in as a substitute against CD Olimpia in the Concacaf Champions League. He scored his first goal for the club in the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs on December 1 against FC Dallas.[12]

International career

O'Neill is eligible to represent both the United States and the Republic of Ireland. On October 9, 2012, O'Neill was called up by the United States U20 national team for the 2012 Marbella Cup in Spain.[13] A day later, O'Neill made his debut for the U20s in a 2–1 loss to Canada, however he suffered an eye injury that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament.[14][15] He later played for the US at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He has yet to debut for the US senior team and has indicated a willingness to accept a call for his native Ireland.[16] He participated in a US camp in January 2014, although he was dropped prior to a friendly against South Korea.[17] He was called up to the United States senior squad for a friendly against Panama in February 2015.[18]

Career statistics

Club
As of October 6, 2019
Club Season League Cup Continental Playoffs Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Colorado Rapids 2012 MLS 1000––10
2013 26010–10280
2014 21120––231
2015 4020––60
Total 52 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 58 1
Apollon Limassol 2015–16 Cypriot First Division ––––00
Royal Excel Mouscron (loan) 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 0000––00
Cambridge United (loan) 2015–16 League Two 20–––20
NAC Breda (loan) 2016–17 Eerste Divisie 25 1 0 0 – 4 0 29 1
Excelsior 2017–18 Eredivisie 1010––20
Orlando City 2018 MLS 13010––140
2019 11010––120
Total 240200000260
Career Totals 10428000501172

Personal life

O'Neill is the son of former All-Ireland winning Cork Gaelic footballer, Colm O'Neill, and is a nephew of former Kerry Gaelic footballer, Maurice Fitzgerald.[19]

O'Neill's family immigrated to the United States from Ireland when he was a toddler after his father won a green card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery program.[20]

    References
    1. "Rapids sign Boulder's Shane O'Neill as Homegrown player". coloradorapids.com. Colorado Rapids Media Relations. June 19, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
    2. Sferra, German (September 5, 2012). "O'Neill becomes first homegrown player to make MLS debut". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
    3. "Rapids announce 2013 team awards, with Dillon Powers taking MVP honors". Colorado Rapids.
    4. UZ. "Shane O'Neill Nominated For US Soccer Award". Burgundy Wave.
    5. "Shane O'Neill transferred to Cypriot side Apollon Limassol". Colorado Rapids.
    6. "Sept nouveaux joueurs : Oussalah de retour" (in French). Retrieved August 31, 2015.
    7. "Shane O'Neill, former Rapids defender, excited for Belgium move, Olympic qualifying". Retrieved September 11, 2015.
    8. "Excelsior contracteert verdediger Shane O'Neill" (in Dutch). Retrieved August 21, 2017.
    9. "Orlando City SC Signs Defender Shane O'Neill". Retrieved June 22, 2018.
    10. "Orlando City SC Announces 2019 End-of-Season Roster Decisions". Orlando City SC. November 21, 2019.
    11. "Sounders FC signs defender Shane O'Neill". Seattle Sounders FC. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
    12. Evans, Jayda (December 1, 2020). "Sounders fight past FC Dallas to reach Western Conference title match". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
    13. "Torre Added to U.S. U-20 Men's National Team Roster for 2012 Marbella Cup". U.S. soccer. October 9, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
    14. "U.S. Under-20 MNT Loses 2–1 to Canada in International Friendly at 2012 Marbella Cup". U.S. soccer. October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
    15. Bianchi, Chris (October 24, 2012). "O'Neill hopes to keep getting calls from US U-20s". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
    16. "Colorado Rapids defender Shane O'Neill debating between U.S., Ireland -". ProSoccerTalk.
    17. Avi Creditor. "Klinsmann narrows down roster for USA's January camp final leg, adds Parkhurst". SI.com.
    18. "USA 2-0 Panama". eurosport.co.uk. February 8, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
    19. Heneghan, Conor (May 26, 2014). "Maurice Fitzgerald's nephew scored his first goal in the MLS on Saturday night and it was a cracker". JOE.ie. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
    20. Krasnoo, Ryan (October 19, 2020). "Once a journeyman, Sounders' Shane O'Neill quietly flashing defensive bona fides as he finds home in Seattle". Seattle Sounders FC. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
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