Preston Popp

Preston Popp (born December 8, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for North Carolina FC in USL League One.

Preston Popp
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-12-08) December 8, 1999
Place of birth Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina FC
Number 88
Youth career
CS Dollard
Charlotte Soccer Academy
North Carolina FC
2017 New York Red Bulls
2017–2018 Toronto FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2021 Charlotte 49ers 67 (22)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 North Carolina FC U23 6 (1)
2022 Rochester New York FC 8 (0)
2022 → FC Cincinnati II (loan) 1 (0)
2023– North Carolina FC 15 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 16, 2023

Early life

Born in Montreal, Popp is the son of Jim Popp, who was the general manager of the Canadian Football League team Montreal Allouettes at the time.[1] He began playing youth soccer with CS Dollard, before moving to Mooresville, North Carolina at age ten.[1] He played youth soccer with the Charlotte Soccer Academy and North Carolina FC.[2] He then played with the New York Red Bulls Academy[1] and the Toronto FC Academy.[3]

College career

In 2018, he began attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he played for the men's soccer team.[4][5] He scored his first goal on September 11, 2018, against the Elon Phoenix.[6] In his freshman season, he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team[7] and the Conference USA All-Tournament Team.[8] In his junior season, he was the Co-Golden Boot winner and was named to the Conference USA Second Team,[9] and was also a Second Team Scholar All-American, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region, and Scholar All-Region.[10] He was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-District III First Team.[11][12] In his senior season in 2021, he once again won the Conference USA Golden Boot,[13] All-Region honours, and was named to the Conference USA First Team.[14]

Club career

In 2019, he played with North Carolina FC U23 in USL League Two,[15] despite originally being set to join Reading United AC.[16] He was named to the USL2 Team of the Week, after scoring his first goal on June 7 against Lionsbridge FC, scoring in stoppage time to give his team a 2–1 victory.[17]

After not being selected in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft,[18] he signed a contract with MLS Next Pro side Rochester New York FC.[19][20] On May 1, he joined FC Cincinnati II on a short-term loan for their match against Toronto FC II, as Cincinnati was experiencing a roster shortage.[21] In November 2022, Rochester announced Popp would be departing the club.[22]

In December 2022, Popp signed a professional contract with USL League One club North Carolina FC for the 2023 season, re-joining his former youth club.[23]

References
  1. D'Amours, Tristan (January 10, 2022). "Preston Popp eager to start professional career ahead of 2022 MLS Superdraft". Toronto Star.
  2. Jacques, John (January 9, 2022). "Who Are The Canadians In The MLS SuperDraft?". Northern Tribune.
  3. Dunk, Justin (October 4, 2017). "Q&A: Argos GM Jim Popp settling into life in Toronto". 3 Down Nation.
  4. "Niners Announce Newcomers to the 2018 Roster". Charlotte 49ers. June 11, 2018.
  5. "Preston Popp Charlotte 49ers profile". Charlotte 49ers.
  6. "Niners Explode Offensively In 4-0 Win At Elon". Charlotte 49ers. September 11, 2018.
  7. "MSOC: All-Conference Awards Announced". Conference USA. November 6, 2018.
  8. "14th-ranked Charlotte suffers first home loss of season". WBTV. November 11, 2018.
  9. "Niners Pile Up the Hardware: Hogan Named Defensive MVP, Popp Earns Co-Golden Boot Award, Seven Garner All-Conference USA Honors". Charlotte 49ers. April 20, 2021.
  10. "Niners Trio Earns United Soccer Coaches Scholar Honors". Charlotte 49ers. May 20, 2021.
  11. "Academic attention adds to area soccer standout's success". Mooresville Tribune. June 12, 2021.
  12. "Three Niners Named CoSIDA Academic All-District". Charlotte 49ers. June 3, 2021.
  13. "Mooresville's Preston Popp seals win for UNCC; earns second Golden Boot Award". Mooresville Tribune. November 9, 2021.
  14. "Brito, Popp Earn All-Southeast Region Honors". Charlotte 49ers. December 7, 2021.
  15. "Preston Popp 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  16. "United Add Five More DI Talents to 2019 Roster". Berks Community Television. May 6, 2019.
  17. "USL League Two Team of the Week - Week 6". USL League Two. June 12, 2019.
  18. Skopinsky, Robert (May 3, 2022). "Preston Popp Exclusive Interview: Soccer, Rochester, and Life". MLS Next Pro.
  19. "Preston Popp Joins RNY FC". MLS Next Pro. January 31, 2022.
  20. Husillos Jr., Mario (March 12, 2022). "Rochester New York FC: How the only non-MLS owned club is building its squad for the first-ever MLS Next Pro season – recruitment analysis". Total Football Analysis.
  21. Brennan, Pat (May 2, 2022). "FC Cincinnati 'very pleased' with Obinna Nwobodo's debut against Toronto FC". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  22. @rnyfcofficial (November 30, 2022). "The following players have been released from the club" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Twitter.
  23. "NCFC signs forward Preston Popp". North Carolina FC. December 14, 2022.
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