| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 8, 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Internationals SC | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Akron Zips | 54 | (3) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | Portland Timbers U23s | 6 | (1) |
| 2015–2017 | Sporting Kansas City | 64 | (1) |
| 2015 | → San Antonio Scorpions (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2018 | New York City FC | 4 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Phoenix Rising (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC | 18 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Tacoma Defiance (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2020 | FC Cincinnati | 8 | (0) |
| 2021 | Columbus Crew | 18 | (0) |
| 2022 | San Antonio FC | 11 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 21, 2022 | |||
Saad Abdul-Salaam (born September 8, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Abdul-Salaam grew up in Gahanna, Ohio where he played for the local high school side that won the state championship in 2009.[1] Abdul-Salaam then went on to attend the University of Akron where he played for the Akron Zips.
After his four-years at Akron, Abdul-Salaam was drafted as the twelfth overall pick during the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City.[2] On May 19, 2015, Abdul-Salaam was recalled from his loan with the San Antonio Scorpions by Sporting Kansas City.[3]
On April 1, 2015, it was announced that Abdul-Salaam would be loaned out to the San Antonio Scorpions for the North American Soccer League spring season.[4] He made his professional debut for the team on April 4 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. He started the match and played the full 90 as San Antonio fell 3–1.[5]
He was called back on May 20, 2015. He was subbed on for Krisztian Nemeth in the 90th minute making his first MLS appearance. He finished the 2015 season starting 10 games and played 22 games and had 1 assist. In the playoffs he made the most iconic moment. In the penalty shoot out against the Portland Timbers, he had the chance to win it all but he instead hit both goal posts and the ball went out. In 2016, his sophomore season, he played in 30 games, scoring none but having 6 assists which was more assists than any other SKC player that season. In 2017 he scored his first professional goal in the team's 3–0 win against Minnesota United on June 21.[citation needed]
On December 14, 2017, it was announced that Abdul-Salaam was traded to New York City FC in exchange for Khiry Shelton.[6] He was loaned to Phoenix Rising FC on August 13, 2018.[7][8]
On February 26, 2019, Abdul-Salaam's rights were traded to Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for $50,000 of Targeted Allocation Money.[9] He was released by Seattle at the end of the 2019 season.[10]
On December 3, 2019, Abdul-Salaam was selected by FC Cincinnati in Stage Two of the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Process.[11]
On April 17, 2021, Abdul-Salaam was selected off waivers by Columbus Crew, who had been waived a few days earlier by Cincinnati following their acquisition of Edgar Castillo.[12] Following the 2021 season, Columbus opted to decline their contract option on Abdul-Salaam.[13]
On June 22, 2022, San Antonio FC announced that they signed Abdul-Salaam for the remainder of the 2022 season.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | International[a] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | 2015 | MLS | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 16 | 1 | |||
| Total | 64 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 1 | ||
| San Antonio Scorpions (loan) | 2015 | NASL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| New York City | 2018 | MLS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0[b] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Phoenix Rising (loan) | 2018 | USL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2019 | MLS | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0[b] | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Tacoma Defiance (loan) | 2019 | USL | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| FC Cincinnati | 2020 | MLS | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Columbus Crew | 2021 | 18 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 115 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 132 | 1 | ||
Seattle Sounders FC
Columbus Crew