Dylan Nealis
Personal information
Full name Dylan Nealis
Date of birth (1998-07-30) July 30, 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth Massapequa, New York, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 New York Red Bulls
Number 12
Youth career
2005–2016 Massapequa SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Georgetown Hoyas 78 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Long Island Rough Riders 16 (0)
2020 Inter Miami 19 (0)
2021 Nashville SC 4 (0)
2021– New York Red Bulls 47 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 30, 2023

Dylan Nealis (born July 30, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls.

Career

Youth and Collegiate

Nealis began his career with local club Massapequa SC. He also played for Massapequa High School. As a sophomore in 2013, Nealis scored the winning goals in both the semi-final and final of the 2013 NYSPHSAA Class AA tournament where he was also named MVP.[2]

As a junior in 2014, Nealis' Massapequa team finished undefeated in the regular season. Their playoff run ended with a 2-0 loss to the Syosset Braves in the Nassau County Class AA tournament. [3]

In 2016, Nealis began his collegiate soccer career with the Georgetown Hoyas. In 2019, Nealis captained the Georgetown University team that won their first NCAA national championship.[4] Nealis was named the Defensive Most Outstanding Player of the national tournament,[5] becoming the first Hoya to win the honor.[6][7] During the 2019 season, Nealis was also named a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, an annual award to the top college soccer player in the nation.[8]

During his college years, Nealis also played USL League Two side Long Island Rough Riders.

Professional

On January 9, 2020, Nealis was selected by Inter Miami CF as the third overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.[9] Nealis made his professional debut on September 23, 2020, appearing as a starter in a 1-4 loss to New York Red Bulls. He ended his first season appearing in 20 matches for Inter Miami.

On April 11, 2021, Nealis was traded to Nashville SC in exchange for $175,000 in general allocation money and an additional $50,000 if he was to meet certain performance-based metrics.[10] On April 24, 2021, Nealis made his debut with Nashville, appearing an injury-time substitute in a 2-2 draw with CF Montréal. On July 17, 2021, he started his first match for the club, recording an assist in a 5-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC.[11]

On December 16, 2021, Nealis was traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for $175,000 in general allocation money and an additional $75,000 if he was to meet certain performance-based metrics.[12] On February 26, 2022, Nealis made his debut for New York, appearing as a starter in a 3-1 victory over San Jose Earthquakes in the opening match of the season.[13] On May 25, 2022, Nealis scored his first goal as a professional in a 3-1 victory for New York over Charlotte FC as his team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup.[14]In November 2023, Nealis signed a new contract with Red Bulls to remain through the 2024 season.[15]

Personal life

Nealis has three older brothers who all played soccer. His oldest brother, Jimmy, also played college soccer at Georgetown University and played professionally for the New York Cosmos. Nealis' older brother, Sean played collegiate soccer for Hofstra University and is currently a defender for the New York Red Bulls. His brother, Connor, played for Binghamton University.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played November 21, 2020[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Long Island Rough Riders 2017[17] USL PDL 8 0 — 3[a] 0 11 0
2018[18] 0 0 — — 0 0
2019[19] USL 2 8 0 — — 8 0
Total 16 0 0 0 3 0 19 0
Inter Miami 2020 MLS 19 0 — 1[b] 0 20 0
Nashville SC 2021 MLS 4 0 — 0 0 4 0
New York Red Bulls 2022 MLS 28 0 5 1 1[c] 0 34 1
New York Red Bulls 2023 MLS 19 0 2 0 3[d] 0 24 0
Career total 86 0 7 1 8 0 101 1
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in USL PDL Playoffs
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  4. ^ Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs

Honors

Individual

Team

References

  1. ^ "Dylan Nealis". New York Red Bulls. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Stromberg, Jason. "Dylan Nealis' goal gives Massapequa Class AA title". Newsday.
  3. ^ Herzog, Bob. "Matt Parker's heroics help Syosset shock Massapequa". Newday.com. Newday. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "Georgetown wins NCAA title, beating Virginia on penalty kick". WTOP. December 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  5. ^ Costello, Alex (December 15, 2019). "Massapequa Native Helps Lead Team To NCAA Championship". Massapequa Patch.
  6. ^ Goff, Steven (December 15, 2019). "College Cup soccer: Georgetown outlasts Virginia in penalty kicks to win its first NCAA title". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  7. ^ Failla, Zak (December 15, 2019). "Long Island Standout Helps Georgetown Soccer Team Win First National Title". Suffolk Daily Voice.
  8. ^ "Men's MAC Hermann Trophy 2019 finalists announced". Soccerwire. December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "Inter Miami CF Selects Robbie Robinson, Dylan Nealis in 2020 MLS SuperDraft First Round". MLS Soccer.
  10. ^ "Nashville SC acquire defender Dylan Nealis in trade with Inter Miami". MLS Soccer.
  11. ^ "Nashville SC defeats Chicago 5-1". mlssoccer.com.
  12. ^ "New York Red Bulls Acquire Defender Dylan Nealis From Nashville SC". New York Red Bulls.
  13. ^ "Recap: San Jose Earthquakes 1, New York Red Bulls 3". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  14. ^ "Red Bulls Move on to U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals With Win Against Charlotte FC". newyorkredbulls.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "New York Red Bulls Sign Defender Dylan Nealis to New MLS Contract". NewYorkRedBulls.com. New York Red Bulls. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Dylan Nealis at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Long Island Rough Riders - 2017 Regular Season - Roster - # - Dylan Nealis -". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "Long Island Rough Riders - 2018 Regular Season - Roster". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  19. ^ "Long Island Rough Riders | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

External links

New York Red Bulls – current squad
NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament Most Outstanding Player
Big East Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Year
2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer First-Team All-America
2020 MLS SuperDraft first-round selections
Inter Miami CF first-round draft picks
Categories