Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is an English-American soccer player who plays as a forward for Orlando City SC and the United States men's national soccer team. Dwyer won the MLS Cup with Kansas City in 2013.
College and amateur
Born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, after the family moved to East Anglia, Dwyer was spotted playing for King's Lynn Community Football, and was then signed into the youth programme of Norwich City. Dwyer studied at the College of West Anglia from 2006 to 2008.
After playing for Staines Town for a year, in 2008 he joined King's Lynn F.C., where he broke his right foot three times. He was then told by doctors that he would never be physically capable of playing at a professional level. Dwyer was given an opportunity by scout Joe McLaughlin of Soccer Icon USA, to get a sports scholarship to study for a college degree in the U.S., Dwyer has said that he accepted the offer to get a free degree and that, at the time, he had given up on the dream of a soccer career.
Dwyer moved from England to attend Tyler Junior College in Texas, where he won two national championships and was the national junior college player of the year after scoring 37 goals as a sophomore. After two years at Tyler, he made the move to the University of South Florida, where he played in 2011.
Professional career
Sporting Kansas City
On January 12, 2012, Dwyer was selected No. 16 overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City. He was first included for a professional game on March 25, remaining an unused substitute in a 2â€"1 win over FC Dallas at Sporting Park. He made his debut on 29 May in a 3â€"2 win over Orlando City in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup third round, playing the first half before being replaced by C. J. Sapong; his team went on to win the tournament, although he played no further part in their run. Dwyer made his MLS debut against Toronto FC on September 2, replacing Sapong for the final four minutes of a 2â€"1 home win for his only appearance of the regular season; on November 4, he made another substitute appearance in the 2012 MLS Cup Playoffs against the Houston Dynamo, a 2â€"0 away defeat.
Following the 2012 Major League Soccer season, Dwyer went on trial with Scottish Premier League club St Mirren in hopes of securing a loan to gain playing time. However, on January 3, 2013, it was announced that the proposed loan for Dwyer had been called off by Sporting.
A little over a month later, Dwyer, along with three other teammates, were loaned to USL Pro club Orlando City for the 2013 season as part of the alliance between the two clubs. He made an instant impact for the Lions by tallying two goals and one assist in the club's first three matches. On May 4, 2013, Dwyer scored his first career hat-trick in a 7â€"2 victory over the Antigua Barracuda. Three weeks later, he scored his 13th goal of the season against the Wilmington Hammerheads, tying the all-time season record in the USL Pro for goals with only 46% of the season played. On June 7, Dwyer scored his 14th goal of the season against Phoenix FC, surpassing Jhonny Arteaga's tally of 13 goals for FC New York in 2011. On June 22, 2013, Dwyer scored the opening goal of an international friendly against Fluminense FC of Brazil's Série A, an eventual 3â€"4 loss.
On June 27, 2013, Dwyer was recalled by Sporting the morning after Orlando's US Open Cup defeat to Chicago Fire SC. On August 3, he scored his first goal in MLS against the New York Red Bulls in the second minute of stoppage time, albeit in a 2â€"3 home loss. Five days later, Dwyer made his debut in the CONCACAF Champions League for Sporting. In the 75th minute, he scored to give Sporting a 2â€"0 lead against Nicaraguan outfit, Real Esteli. Coming back for one more game with Orlando City on September 7, Dwyer scored four goals, a club record for one game, against the Charlotte Eagles in the 2013 USL Pro Championship, leading the Lions to a 7â€"4 victory.
On November 23, 2013, Dwyer scored the winning goal for Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Final against Houston to lead them to the MLS Cup. He was substituted for Claudio Bieler after 72 minutes of the championship game on December 7, which his team won 7â€"6 in a penalty shootout.
Orlando City Soccer Club
On July 25, 2017, Dwyer was traded from Sporting Kansas City to Orlando City SC, the MLS successor to the USL Orlando City SC (2010â€"14), in exchange for US$900,000 in guaranteed allocation funds (split between general and targeted), as well as up to US$700,000 in future allocation funds based on his performance. This set the record for most expensive transfer in the league to date.
International career
Born in England, Dwyer moved to the United States in 2009 and gained U.S. citizenship after eight years of residence in March 2017. Following his naturalization Dwyer was called up by the United States men's national soccer team on June 3, 2017, as part of their 40-man preliminary roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
On June 25, 2017, Dwyer was named to the final 23-man Gold Cup roster for the United States Men's National Team. Dwyer scored in his first cap in a 2â€"1 friendly victory over Ghana on July 1, 2017. He scored again in his second cap on July 8, 2017, in the U.S.'s first match of the Gold Cup, a 1â€"1 tie with Panama, making him only the ninth player in USMNT history to score two goals in as many appearances. He was one of six players replaced in the roster after the conclusion of the group stage of the tournament on July 16.
International goals
- Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first.
Honors
International
CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2017
Domestic
- Sporting Kansas City
- MLS Cup: 2013
- U.S. Open Cup (2): 2012, 2015
- Western Conference (Playoffs): 2013
Career statistics
Club
- As of August 5, 2017
Personal life
Dwyer received his U.S. green card in 2012. This qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. In January 2015, he married Sydney Leroux in a private ceremony, announcing it on February 14 on their social media. Their son, Cassius Cruz Dwyer, was born in September 2016. On March 17, 2017, Dwyer became an American citizen.
References
External links
- Dom Dwyer at Major League Soccer
- Tyler bio
- USF bio