Tomas Hilliard-Arce

Tomas Andres Hilliard-Arce (born November 22, 1995) is a retired Costa Rican[1]-American soccer player.

Tomas Hilliard-Arce
Personal information
Full name Tomas Andres Hilliard-Arce[1]
Date of birth (1995-11-02) November 2, 1995
Place of birth Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2010–2014 Charlotte Soccer Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Stanford Cardinal 87 (13)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Charlotte Eagles
2017 Burlingame Dragons
2018–2019 LA Galaxy 5 (0)
2018–2019 LA Galaxy II 39 (4)
2020 Sacramento Republic 12 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 4, 2020

Career

Youth and college

Hilliard-Arce was born in Stamford, Connecticut, but grew up in the Charlotte suburb of Matthews, North Carolina. In high school, he played club soccer for Charlotte Soccer Academy in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. During his freshman and sophomore years, Hilliard-Arce played high school soccer with Providence Day School. While playing for the Providence Day Chargers, Hilliard-Arce earned all-state honors as a sophomore and all-conference honors as a sophomore and freshman. During his junior and senior years, U.S. Soccer Laws changed prohibiting him from playing club and high school soccer.

Ahead of the 2014 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, Hilliard-Arce signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Stanford Cardinal men's soccer program. Hilliard-Arce made his Stanford debut on August 29, 2014, where he started and played all 90 minutes in a 0–2 loss at Creighton. On September 9, 2014, he scored his first college soccer goal for the Cardinal, in a 4–1 win over UC Santa Barbara. Hilliard-Arce finished his freshman season with two goals in 19 appearances. Following his freshman year, he earned freshmen best XI honors from TopDrawer Soccer, Soccer America and CollegeSoccerNews.com, as well as second-team All-Pac-12. Hilliard-Arce remained a starter his sophomore year, during the program's first-ever national championship run. At the end of the season, Hilliard-Arce earned all-Pac-12 second-team honors as well as national second-team honors from TopDrawer Soccer.

Hilliard-Arce had a career year his junior year, where he helped the Cardinal repeat as national champions. His contributions, helped the program reach a record low 0.56 goals against average, one of the lowest in college soccer during the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. He earned first-team All-American honors from NSCAA and TopDrawer Soccer, as well as NSCAA College Cup Best XI, and was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy. At the end of the 2016 Pac-12 Conference men's soccer season, he was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Speculation rose that Hilliard-Arce would go pro and forgo his senior year, but he returned for the 2017 season. There, he helped Stanford become the first program to three-peat as NCAA champions for the first time in over 20 years. Hilliard-Arce was named one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy, but ultimately lost on voting to Jon Bakero of Wake Forest. Additionally, during his senior year, Hilliard-Arce repeated as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and was, again named, an All-American by various soccer media outlets.

Professional

On January 19, 2018, Hilliard-Arce was selected 2nd overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by LA Galaxy.[2] Hillard-Arce made his debut for the Galaxy on May 21, 2018 against the Montreal Impact. He was subbed on in the 91st minute.[3]

Following his release from LA Galaxy at the end of their 2019 season, Hilliard-Arce joined USL side Sacramento Republic on January 8, 2020.[4]

On October 27, 2020, following the USL Championship season, Hilliard-Arce announced his retirement from playing professional soccer.[5]

International career

American-born Hilliard-Arce is also eligible to play for Costa Rica through his mother. He trained with the Costa Rican U20 team in 2014.[6]

Honors

Individual
  • Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year (2): 2016, 2017
  • TopDrawer National Player of the Year: 2017

Team

References
  1. "Demosphere (#34 - Tomas Andres Hilliard-Arce - Charlotte Soccer Academy U-17/18)". U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
  2. "LA Galaxy pick Tomas Hilliard-Arce second overall in 2018 MLS Draft". axs.com. AXS. January 22, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  3. "Montreal Impact vs. LA Galaxy - Football Match Summary - May 21, 2018 - ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. May 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  4. "Republic FC Sign Tomas Hilliard-Arce". sacrepublicfc.com. Sacramento Republic FC. January 8, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  5. https://www.sacrepublicfc.com/news_article/show/1130233
  6. "Charlotte Soccer Academy standout to join Costa Rica U-20s for training camp". soccerwire.com. Hummer Sport. January 30, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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