Tarek Morad (Arabic: طارق مراد; born August 21, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who last played for Oakland Roots in the USL Championship.

Tarek Morad
Morad playing for Louisville City in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Los Angeles, California, United States
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Center back, Defensive midfielder
Youth career
2004–2010 Arsenal FC (California)
2006–2010 Chino Hills High School
2013 Chivas USA
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Mt. Sac Mounties
2011–2013 UC Irvine Anteaters 61 (3)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013 OC Blues Strikers 5 (0)
2014 Oklahoma City Energy 13 (0)
2015–2017 Louisville City 72 (4)
2018–2019 Tampa Bay Rowdies 46 (0)
2020 San Diego Loyal 6 (0)
2021–2023 Oakland Roots 71 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 22, 2023

Early life

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Personal

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Tarek was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Chino Hills, California to Egyptian parents and has two older brothers.[1] He attended Chino Hills High School where he would twice win the Sierra League and be named the Sierra League MVP as a Junior.[2]

College and Youth

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Morad was to originally play college soccer at UC Riverside as a midfielder but his scholarship offer was rescinded. Instead he enrolled at Mt. San Antonio College in 2010. While at Mt. San Antonio he led the Mounties to the South Coast Conference Title as well the California Junior College State Championship. He was also named to the All-Conference team.[3]

In 2011 Morad would transfer to UC Irvine where he would be converted to a defender.[3] He would play in 61 matches and score three goals during his time there. During his Senior year UC Irvine would win the Big West Conference Title and would make it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament; a school record.[4]

In 2013 Morad also play with the Chivas USA U23 team. Chivas would finish the year unbeaten on their way to the Coast Soccer League Championship where Morad would score the final goal of Championship match.[4]

Club career

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OKC Energy FC

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2014 season

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Morad would go undrafted in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and after a trial with Seattle Sounders FC[4] would sign with United Soccer League expansion side OKC Energy FC on February 27.[5] He would appear in 13 of Oklahoma's 28 regular season matches without scoring a goal.

Louisville City FC

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2015 season

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On February 19 Morad would sign with another USL expansion team; Louisville City FC.[6] He would make his debut on March 28 against Saint Louis and appear in 26 of Louisville's 28 regular season matches; scoring 2 goals. He'd also play in two of Louisville's three US Open Cup matches and both of their USL Cup matches.[7]

2016 season

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Morad would play in 20 of Louisville's 30 regular season matches and make his season debut on April 2 against Orlando City B. He scored his lone goal on June 21 against Toronto[8] and would also contribute 2 assists.[7] He played in one of Louisville's US Open Cup matches as well as all three of Louisville's USL Cup matches.

2017 season

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Morad would play in 26 of Louisville's 32 regular season matches and make his season debut on March 25 against Saint Louis. He also played in both of Louisville's US Open Cup matches as well as all four of Louisville's USL Cup matches. He scored his lone goal of the regular season in the final match against Richmond off the rebounded his own missed penalty kick. This goal made him the 17th and final outfield player to score for Louisville during the season; the entire outfield roster.[9] He would also score a brace in the first half of Louisville's opening USL Cup match against Bethlehem.[9] Morad and Louisville would go on to win the USL Cup Final against Swope Park.[10]

Morad would not be resigned by Louisville after the season.[11] He left Louisville as their all-time leader in both league and overall appearances with 75 and 88 appearances respectively.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

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2018 season

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On August 8 Morad signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies[12] of the USL and made his Tampa debut on the day, helping the Rowdies earn a clean sheet against Charleston.[13]

2019 season

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The 2019 season saw Morad become a crucial player for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, making 34 appearances[14] as his team finished 5th in the Eastern Conference,[15] before losing the Conference Quarter Final 2–1 to his old team Louisville City on October 27, 2019.[16] On November 19, 2019, Morad announced on his Twitter account that he was leaving the Tampa Bay Rowdies.[17]

San Diego Loyal SC

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2020 season

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On September 1, 2020, Morad joined USL Championship side San Diego Loyal for the remainder of the season.[18]

Oakland Roots

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On December 21, 2020, it was announced that Morad would join USL Championship side Oakland Roots ahead of their inaugural season in the league.[19] After three seasons with the club, he was not re-signed for the 2024 season.[20]

Career statistics

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Professional appearances – correct as of November 25, 2020.[21]

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
OC Blues Strikers 2013 USL League Two 5 0 0 0 5 0
Oklahoma City Energy 2014 USL Championship 13 0 1 0 14 0
Louisville City 2015 26 2 2 0 2[a] 0 30 2
2016 20 1 1 0 3[a] 0 24 1
2017 26 1 2 0 4[a] 2 32 3
Louisville City Total 72 4 5 0 9 2 86 6
Tampa Bay Rowdies 2018 USL Championship 13 0 0 0 13 0
2019 33 0 1 0 1[a] 0 35 0
Tampa Bay Rowdies Total 46 0 1 0 1 0 48 0
San Diego Loyal 2020 USL Championship 6 0 0 0 6 0
Career Total 142 4 7 0 0 0 10 2 159 6
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in USL Cup

Honors

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Louisville City FC

References

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  1. ^ Soltan, Mohamed (November 25, 2017). "Tarek Morad: Champion emerging from the shadow". www.egypttoday.com. Cairo, Egypt: Egypt Today. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "Tarek Morad". www.mlssoccer.com. MLS. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Milby, jeff (February 20, 2015). "Louisville City Update: LCFC Signs Two More, Announces Preseason Slate". The Mane Land. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Meeker, Randy (January 24, 2014). "Trialist: Tarek Morad". www.sounderatheart.com. Sound at Heart. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Brannick, Chris (April 25, 2014). "Oklahoma City Energy FC: Breaking down the 2014 Energy FC roster". newsok.com. Oklahoma City, OK: The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  6. ^ Lintner, Jonathan (February 19, 2015). "Louisville City FC adds two more to roster". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Tarek Morad". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville City FC. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  8. ^ Lerner, Danielle (June 21, 2016). "Abend nets two as LouCity knocks out Toronto". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Murray, Nicholas (October 21, 2017). "Hard Work Pays Off for Louisville's Morad". www.uslsoccer.com. Louisville, KY: USL. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Murray, Nicholas (November 14, 2017). "Louisville's Late Winner Claims USL Cup Victory". www.uslsoccer.com. Louisville, KY: USL. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  11. ^ Loucity (November 17, 2017). "Louisville City FC announces Roser Changes". Louisville City Fc. Louisville, KY: LCFC. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  12. ^ "Rowdies Sign 2017 USL Cup Champion Tarek Morad". Tampa Bay Rowdies. St. Petersburg, FL. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  13. ^ Cardamone, Sarah (August 8, 2018). "Battery Earns Fourth Consecutive Clean Sheet in Draw with Rowdies". www.charlestonbattery.com. Charleston, SC: Charleston Battery. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  14. ^ "USA - T. Morad - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". ie.soccerway.com.
  15. ^ "Summary - USL Championship - USA - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway".
  16. ^ "Tampa Bay Rowdies eliminated from USL Championship playoffs". Tampa Bay Times.
  17. ^ @TarekMMorad (November 19, 2019). "Thank you, @tampabayrowdies, for the opportunity. Thank you to the fans for your support all year. Thank you to all…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Loyal, San Diego (September 1, 2020). "SD Loyal Signs Trio of Players Through 2020 Season". San Diego Loyal SC.
  19. ^ "Oakland Roots SC Bolsters Back Line with Tarek Morad". December 21, 2020.
  20. ^ Oakland Roots Sports Club Provide 2024 Roster Updates
  21. ^ "USA – T.Morad". ie.soccerway.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
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