Simon Becher
Personal information
Full name Simon Michael Becher
Date of birth (1999-07-20) July 20, 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth Topeka, Kansas, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Horsens
Number 11
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Holy Cross Crusaders 17 (7)
2019–2021 Saint Louis Billikens 47 (21)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Reading United 10 (7)
2021 Ocean City Nor'easters 12 (11)
2022 Whitecaps FC 2 22 (8)
2022 → Vancouver Whitecaps FC (loan) 1 (1)
2023–2024 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 19 (4)
2023 → Whitecaps FC 2 (loan) 1 (0)
2024– Horsens 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 22, 2023

Simon Michael Becher (born July 20, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Danish 1st Division club AC Horsens.

Early life

Becher was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Brooklyn, Connecticut.[2][3]

College career

Becher played as a first year player for the Holy Cross Crusaders before transferring. Becher appeared in 47 games at Saint Louis University and during that time he scored 21 goals and had 13 assists.[4] At the end of his collegiate career, he was named Saint Louis University's Most Outstanding Male Athlete.[5]

Club career

In 2019, Becher played with Reading United AC in USL League Two.[6] In 2021, he played with the Ocean City Nor'easters.[7]

In January 2022, Becher was drafted by the Whitecaps in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.[8] In March 2022, he signed a professional contract with the second team, Whitecaps FC 2 in MLS Next Pro.[9] He led the team in scoring that season with eight goals.[10]

On August 4, 2022, he joined the Whitecaps first team on a short-term loan.[11] He made his Major League Soccer debut on August 5, scoring his first goal as well against the Houston Dynamo.[12] In September, he signed a second short-term loan agreement.[13] In November 2022, he signed a contract with the first team for the 2023 season, with club options for the following three seasons.[14] Following his two goal performance on April 1 against CF Montreal,[15] he set an MLS record becoming the fastest player in MLS history to score his first four goals – in only 87 minutes of action (across three games).[16][17] The performance earned him MLS Player of the Week honors.[18][19]

The Whitecaps transferred Becher to Danish 1st Division club AC Horsens on January 17, 2024.[20]

Career statistics

As of match played on November 5, 2023 [21]
Club statistics
Club Season League Playoffs National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Reading United AC 2019[6] USL League Two 10 7 — 2 0 — — 12 7
Ocean City Nor'easters 2021[7] USL League Two 12 11 2 1 — — — 14 12
Whitecaps FC 2 2022 MLS Next Pro 22 8 — — — — 22 8
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (loan) 2022 Major League Soccer 1 1 — — — — 1 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2023 19 4 1 0 2 2 2[a] 1 1[b] 0 25 7
Whitecaps FC 2 (loan) 2023 MLS Next Pro 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Career totals 65 31 3 1 4 2 2 1 1 0 75 35
  1. ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
  2. ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup

Honors

Vancouver Whitecaps

References

  1. ^ "Simon Becher". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Burke, Elias (May 26, 2023). "Who is Simon Becher? Vancouver Whitecaps super sub has deep ties to St. Louis area". The Athletic.
  3. ^ Johal, Har (April 7, 2023). "New Whitecaps striker Simon Becher is taking MLS by storm". Daily Hive.
  4. ^ "Simon Becher - 2021 - Men's Soccer". Saint Louis University.
  5. ^ "Congratulations @simon_becher101 on winning this year's Most Outstanding Male Senior Student-Athlete Award!".
  6. ^ a b "Simon Becher 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  7. ^ a b "Simon Becher 2021 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  8. ^ Adams, J.J. (January 11, 2022). "Whitecaps strike with MLS SuperDraft pick Simon Becher out of NCAA's St. Louis University". The Province.
  9. ^ "WFC2 sign two Canadians and four 2022 MLS SuperDraft picks". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. March 18, 2022.
  10. ^ Rey, Joshua (March 27, 2023). "The Whitecaps need to give Simon Becher more minutes". Area 51 Sportsnet.
  11. ^ "Whitecaps FC sign wingback Ali Ahmed and striker Simon Becher to MLS short-term agreements". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. August 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "Whitecaps score two late goals, stun Dynamo". ESPN. May 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "Whitecaps FC sign striker Simon Becher to second MLS short-term agreement". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. September 9, 2022.
  14. ^ "Whitecaps FC sign MLS NEXT Pro forward Simon Becher to an MLS contract". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. November 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "Becher brace leads Whitecaps to 5-0 win over CF Montreal". CBC Sports. April 1, 2023.
  16. ^ -Sigal, Jonathan (April 2, 2023). "Vancouver's Simon Becher: From MLS NEXT Pro to breaking an MLS record". Major League Soccer.
  17. ^ Rice, Mike (April 4, 2023). "Simon Becher breaks out against CF Montréal". The Third Sub.
  18. ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps goal hero Simon Becher wins MLS player of the week award". Canadian Soccer Daily. April 4, 2023.
  19. ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps forward Simon Becher named MLS player of the matchday". CTV News. April 3, 2023.
  20. ^ "Whitecaps FC transfer Simon Becher to Danish side AC Horsens". WhitecapsFC.com. Vancouver Whitecaps. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Simon Becher at Soccerway
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