Mauricio Vargas

Mauricio "Mau" Vargas (born 10 August 1992) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays for Alajuelense.

Mauricio Vargas
Personal information
Full name Mauricio José Vargas Campos[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-10) 10 August 1992
Place of birth Somerville, New Jersey, United States
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Alajuelense
Youth career
2002–2010 Alajuelense
2010–2012 Albacete
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Barton Cougars
2015–2016 Friends Falcons 16 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 FC Wichita 14 (0)
2016 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 12 (0)
2016– Alajuelense[2] 34 (0)
2016–2017[3] → AD Carmelita (loan)[4] 0 (0)
International career‡
2009 Costa Rica U17 3 (0)
2011 Costa Rica U20 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 July 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Early life

Vargas was born in Somerville, New Jersey but moved to Alajuela, Costa Rica with his family when he was very young. He moved back to the New Jersey in his teens.[5] He has four siblings including brothers Juan Pablo who also plays professional soccer and Mario who currently plays for CF Universidad de Costa Rica.[6]

Club career

After moving to Costa Rica, Vargas played outfield positions for the academy of Liga Deportiva Alajuelense beginning at age 9[6] before becoming a goalkeeper at age 13.[7] In 2010, he left Alajuelense and joined the academy of Albacete Balompié of the Spanish Segunda División before announcing his departure in April 2012.[8]

At this time Vargas returned to the United States and played college soccer for the Cougars of Barton Community College. He played for the team for three years before transferring to Friends University in Wichita, Kansas and playing for its team. He graduated with a degree in physical education in 2016.[6] During his lone season on the team, he made 16 appearances and maintained a GAA of 1.049.[9] While at Friends University, he also played for FC Wichita of the National Premier Soccer League for the 2015 season. During the season, he made 14 appearances for the club,[10] as he recorded 6 shutouts and maintained a .79 goals against average.[11] That season, he also helped FC Wichita claim the NPSL South Central Conference title in the club's inaugural season.[12] Following the season, various teams inquired about signing the player including Major League Soccer clubs Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Dallas, and Sporting Kansas City.[11]

In December 2015 it was announced that Vargas had signed his first professional contract, joining the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the United Soccer League.[12] He made his professional debut for the club on 14 May 2016 in a 0–1 defeat to FC Cincinnati in front of a crowd of 23,375, a league record at that time.[13] His performance in the match, which included saving eight of nine shots faced, earned Vargas USL Team of the Week honors.[14]

International career

Vargas first had national team involvement with the Costa Rican youth teams at age 14. He went on to represent Costa Rica at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He played every minute of every match of both tournaments. He was called into the Under-23 team in summer 2015 even though he was not of age to compete with the team.[6] He also appeared in five matches for Costa Rica during the 2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[15]

Career statistics
As of 22 May 2016[15]
Club League Division Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Wichita NPSL IV 2015 1400000140
Pittsburgh Riverhounds USL III 2016 80100090
Career total 2201000230

Honours

Alajuelense

References
  1. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009 List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  2. Michael Umaña: ‘Es un honor vestir la camiseta de Alajuelense’‚ nacion.com, 7 September 2016
  3. Mauricio Vargas se perfila como el portero titular de La Liga ante ausencia de Pemberton‚ everardoherrera.com, 4 January 2017
  4. ¡Ex Albacete ya es Carmelo!‚ adcarmelitacr.com, 8 September 2016
  5. "Riverhounds Announce First Off-Season Roster Moves". CBS. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  6. McKriger, Rachel. "From Costa Rica to Pittsburgh: Mauricio Vargas". Pittsburgh Sports Castle. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  7. "Riverhounds bio". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  8. "Mauricio Vargas no continuará con el Albacete" (in Spanish). CR Hoy. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  9. "Friends University bio". Friends University Athletics. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  10. "FC Wichita bio". FC Wichita. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  11. "Mauricio Vargas signs pro deal in Pittsburgh". FC Wichita. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  12. Ryan, Megan. "Riverhounds announce two signings". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  13. Welch, Matt. "Pro debut brings Vargas multiple high points". DK Sports. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  14. "VARGAS NAMED TO THE USL'S TEAM OF THE WEEK". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  15. "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
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