Simon Michael Becher (born July 20, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club St. Louis City, on loan from Danish 1st Division side AC Horsens.
 Becher in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Michael Becher | ||
| Date of birth | July 20, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Topeka, Kansas, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
St. Louis City (on loan from 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 | 14 | (3) |
| 2024– | → St. Louis City (loan) | 8 | (4) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 6, 2024 | |||
Early life
editBecher was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Brooklyn, Connecticut.[2][3]
College career
editBecher 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
editIn 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] Seven months later, Becher returned to MLS, joining St. Louis City on a one-year loan deal until June 2025.[21][22]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played on August 13, 2024 [23]
| 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 | MLS | 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 | ||||
| AC Horsens | 2024 | Danish Superliga | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||||
| St. Louis CITY SC (loan) | 2024 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4[b] | 2 | 4 | 2 | |||
| Career totals | 65 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 75 | 35 | ||
- ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
- ^ a b Appearances in Leagues Cup
Honors
editVancouver Whitecaps
References
edit- ^ "Simon Becher". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- ^ Burke, Elias (May 26, 2023). "Who is Simon Becher? Vancouver Whitecaps super sub has deep ties to St. Louis area". The Athletic.
- ^ Johal, Har (April 7, 2023). "New Whitecaps striker Simon Becher is taking MLS by storm". Daily Hive.
- ^ "Simon Becher - 2021 - Men's Soccer". Saint Louis University.
- ^ "x.com".
- ^ a b "Simon Becher 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
- ^ a b "Simon Becher 2021 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
- ^ Adams, J.J. (January 11, 2022). "Whitecaps strike with MLS SuperDraft pick Simon Becher out of NCAA's St. Louis University". The Province.
- ^ "WFC2 sign two Canadians and four 2022 MLS SuperDraft picks". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. March 18, 2022.
- ^ Rey, Joshua (March 27, 2023). "The Whitecaps need to give Simon Becher more minutes". Area 51 Sportsnet.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC sign wingback Ali Ahmed and striker Simon Becher to MLS short-term agreements". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. August 4, 2022.
- ^ "Whitecaps score two late goals, stun Dynamo". ESPN. May 16, 2022.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC sign striker Simon Becher to second MLS short-term agreement". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. September 9, 2022.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC sign MLS NEXT Pro forward Simon Becher to an MLS contract". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. November 17, 2022.
- ^ "Becher brace leads Whitecaps to 5-0 win over CF Montreal". CBC Sports. April 1, 2023.
- ^ -Sigal, Jonathan (April 2, 2023). "Vancouver's Simon Becher: From MLS NEXT Pro to breaking an MLS record". Major League Soccer.
- ^ Rice, Mike (April 4, 2023). "Simon Becher breaks out against CF Montréal". The Third Sub.
- ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps goal hero Simon Becher wins MLS player of the week award". Canadian Soccer Daily. April 4, 2023.
- ^ "Vancouver Whitecaps forward Simon Becher named MLS player of the matchday". CTV News. April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC transfer Simon Becher to Danish side AC Horsens". WhitecapsFC.com. Vancouver Whitecaps. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ "St. Louis CITY acquire Simon Becher from Danish team | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
- ^ St. Louis CITY SC Adds Forward Simon Becher on Loan, stlcitysc.com, 23 July 2024
- ^ Simon Becher at Soccerway