Benji Michel

Benjamin Stanley "Benji" Michel (born October 23, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Arouca.

For the New Zealand rugby league player, see Benji Marshall.

Benji Michel
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Stanley Michel[1]
Date of birth (1997-10-23) October 23, 1997
Place of birth Orlando, Florida, United States
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Arouca
Number 18
Youth career
2013–2016 Orlando City
2016 Montverde Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Portland Pilots 53 (31)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Portland Timbers U23s 12 (10)
2019–2022 Orlando City 103 (15)
2023– Arouca 12 (1)
International career‡
2021 United States U23 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 20, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 24, 2021

Having played college soccer for the Portland Pilots, he was signed to a homegrown contract by Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer ahead of the 2019 season.

Club career

Youth and college

Michel grew up in Orlando, Florida, and played for the Orlando City U-18s, where he scored 25 goals for the U.S. Development Academy. While at Montverde, Michel helped the team build on a record 136-game unbeaten streak, which started in 2010.[3]

He played college soccer at the University of Portland from 2016 to 2018, scoring 31 goals in 53 matches.[4] In his freshman year, Michel was named West Coast Conference (WCC) Freshman of the Year. In 2018, he was named to the USC All-American Second Team and was the first Pilot since 2002 to be named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches.[5]

In May 2018, Michel featured twice for Portland Timbers U23s during their U.S. Open Cup campaign.[6]

Orlando City

On December 31, 2018, Orlando City announced the signing of Michel to a Homegrown contract. He became the club's fifth homegrown player and the first to be born in Orlando and come up through the Development Academy.[7] He made his professional debut as a substitute on March 31, 2019 in a 2–1 defeat to D.C. United. On June 19, Michel scored his first professional goal in extra-time of Orlando's 2–1 U.S. Open Cup win over New England Revolution.[8] He scored his first MLS goal on July 13, 2019, in a 1–0 victory over Columbus Crew SC. In July 2019, Michel was selected to take part in the MLS Homegrown Game.[9] He left Orlando upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2022 season.

Arouca

On January 6, 2023, Michel officially joined Portuguese side Arouca, signing a contract until June 2025.[10] On January 15, 2023, Michel made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Chaves, entering the match at the 68th minute. Five days later, Michel scored his first goal in a 4–0 win over Portimonense.

International career

Although born in Orlando, Florida, Michel is also eligible to play for Haiti through his Haitian parentage.

On March 12, 2019, Michel received his first call up to the Haitian national team for their final CONCACAF Nations League qualifying match against Cuba.[11] However, he declined the call up.[12] On May 20, 2019, Michel was added to Haiti's preliminary 2019 Gold Cup roster.[13]

In June 2019, Michel was called into the United States under-23 Summer Training Camp by Jason Kreis.[14] In January 2021, Michel was called up to the senior United States national team for the first time for a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago but was an unused substitute.[15][16] Michel was named to the final 20-player United States under-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2021.[17]

Career statistics

College
School Season Total
Apps Goals
Portland Pilots 2016 19 10
2017 17 10
2018 17 11
NCAA Total 53 31

Club

As of May 20, 2023[18]

Club Season League National cup League cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Orlando City 2019 MLS 17531———206
2020 215—20—3[lower-alpha 2]1266
2021 344—101[lower-alpha 3]0—364
2022 3114210——363
Total 103157340103111819
Arouca 2022–23 Primeira Liga 121—10——131
Career total 115167350103113120
  1. Includes MLS Cup Playoffs and Taça da Liga
  2. Appearance(s) in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
  3. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

Honors

Orlando City

References
  1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Canada" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2019 – via Bernews.
  2. "Benji Michel". Orlando City SC. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. "Orlando City SC Signs Homegrown Forward Benji Michel".
  4. "Benji Michel – Men's Soccer". University of Portland Athletics. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  5. Culver, Jordan; USA, Pro Soccer (December 29, 2018). "Orlando City to sign forward Benji Michel to Homegrown contract". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  6. Day, Danny (May 9, 2018). "Timbers U23s Dominate in 5–0 US Open Cup Win over Kitsap". Timbers U23. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  7. "Orlando City SC Signs Homegrown Forward Benji Michel | Orlando City Soccer Club".
  8. Perez, Mark (June 19, 2019). "Orlando City 2, New England Revolution 1 | 2019 US Open Cup Match Recap". MLS Soccer.
  9. "Roster announced for 2019 MLS Homegrown Game". mlssoccer.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  10. "Benji Michel no Arouca". www.ojogo.pt (in Portuguese).
  11. "Foot – Sélection : Benji Michel, le nouvel attaquant des Grenadiers". Haiti-Tempo. March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  12. Culver, Jordan; USA, Pro Soccer (March 12, 2019). "Orlando City midfielders Will Johnson, Sebas Méndez earn national team call-ups". Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  13. "78 MLS players named to preliminary rosters for 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup | MLSsoccer.com".
  14. "U-23 MNT Gathers for Summer Training Camp in Herriman, Utah". US Soccer.
  15. "USMNT name squad with 10 uncapped players to face Trinidad & Tobago". www.goal.com.
  16. "USA 7 - Trinidad & Tobago 0: Match Report & Stats". www.ussoccer.com.
  17. "U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Head Coach Jason Kreis Names Roster for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship". www.ussoccer.com. March 11, 2021.
  18. "USA – B. Michel – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
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