Nick Perera

Nicolas Perera (born 5 June 1986) is a Spanish-born American professional footballer who plays for and is the head coach for the Tacoma Stars of the MASL.

Nick Perera
Personal information
Full name Nicolas Perera
Date of birth (1986-06-05) 5 June 1986
Place of birth Madrid, Spain
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Tacoma Stars
Number 10
Youth career
K.N.S. Tervuren
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Bakersfield Brigade 3 (0)
2008–2009 Benidorm CF
2010–2011 San Diego Sockers (indoor) 6 (5)
2011–2014 Milwaukee Wave (indoor) 69 (52)
2014–2016 San Diego Sockers (indoor) 36 (40)
2016–2017 Ontario Fury (indoor) 15 (17)
2017 Syracuse Silver Knights (indoor) 3 (4)
2017– Tacoma Stars (indoor) 56 (81)
National team‡
United States beach 26 (42)
Teams managed
2018– Tacoma Stars
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 May 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:44, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

Early life

Perera was born in Madrid, Spain to Prudencio and Dione Perera. Despite having a Spanish father and an American mother, Perera spent most of his childhood in Belgium and can speak 5 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and French.[1]

Playing career

Youth and college
Perera and the 2006 UCSB Gauchos soccer team honored at the White House.

Perera played youth soccer in Belgium with club team K.N.S. Tervuren, as well as his high school team European School of Brussels. He walked on to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team in 2005 after receiving a recommendation from his mother.

I asked my mom where would be a good place to go to college, and she said Santa Barbara sounded like a fun place. Junior year of high school I came to visit the campus and I fell in love with Santa Barbara.

—Nick Perera[2]

Perera played an integral role in UC Santa Barbara’s attack, leading the Gauchos to the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship and winning the national title. For his performances in the 2006 tournament, he was named the College Cup's Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

Professional

After finishing college, Perera played a few matches with California-based Bakersfield Brigade of the USL Premier Development League where he was reunited with UC Santa Barbara teammates Tino Nuñez, Greg Curry, Jon Curry, and Andrew Proctor. Additionally, Eric Wynalda was also on the squad.[3]

Perera then joined Benidorm CF in Spain,[4] before heading back to America to join San Diego Sockers where he played indoor soccer. Despite appearing in just 6 games, he scored 5 goals for the club.[5]

In the off-season, Perera joined Milwaukee Wave.[6] Perera racked up 69 appearances, scoring 52 goals, before moving back to San Diego Sockers ahead of their 2014/15 season.[7] In October 2016, Perera was traded to Ontario Fury.[8] He appeared in 15 games for the Fury and scored 17 goals with 16 assists in his lone season with the club.[9]

Perera was traded in the offseason from Ontario Fury to Syracuse Silver Knights.[10] He appeared 3 times in November 2017 for the Silver Knights and scored 4 goals with two assists.[9] In December 2017, it was announced that Perera was traded to Tacoma Stars.[11][12]

International

Perera represented the United States in the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup where he led the team in goals scored. Despite the United States not advancing past the group stage, his 5 goals were good for a seventh place finish overall in the tournament.

Honours

Club
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos

Individual
  • College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player: 2006

References
  1. Delong, Katie; Pipines, Tom (4 March 2014). "Wave player who has brother with autism working to help others". FOX 6 WITI-Milwaukee. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  2. "Player Interviews Nick Perera". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  3. "Bakersfield Brigade 2007 Team Roster & Player Stats". USLSoccer.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. "Milwaukee Wave Media Guide - Nick Perera" (PDF). Milwaukee Wave. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  5. "2010/11 Complete Statistics". PASL-Pro. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  6. "MILWAUKEE WAVE EXTENDS TARGET FORWARDS PERERA AND HEWERTON". Patch.com. Milwaukee Wave. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  7. "Sockers Acquire Rights To Nick Perera". San Diego Sockers. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  8. "FURY TRADE FOR SOCKERS' VETERAN NICK PERERA". Ontario Fury. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  9. "Nick Perera". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  10. Kramer, Lindsay (31 October 2017). "A day at the beach in Syracuse? Silver Knights pick up sand soccer star". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  11. Sparks, Brandon (20 December 2017). "STARS BRING IN TARGET PERERA, SIGN PLU'S NA". Tacoma Stars. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  12. Gimse, Justin (4 January 2018). "STARS NEED WINS NOW". Tacoma Weekly. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
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