Tony Rocha

Tony Rocha
Rocha playing for Orlando City in 2017
Personal information
Full name Antonio Rocha
Date of birth (1993-08-21) 21 August 1993
Place of birth Spring, Texas, U.S.
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 76 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Austin Aztex 7 (3)
2014 Tulsa Athletic 4 (2)
2015 Austin Aztex 25 (1)
2016 Orlando City B 19 (1)
2016–2018 Orlando City 23 (0)
2017 → Orlando City B 14 (0)
2018 → Saint Louis FC (loan) 2 (0)
2019–2021 New York City 33 (1)
2022 Orange County SC 20 (0)
International career‡
2019–2022 Belize 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:43, 23 October 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:14, 3 June 2022 (UTC)

Antonio Rocha (born 21 August 1993) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in the United States, he represented Belize at international level.

Early life

Rocha played college soccer at the University of Tulsa from 2011 to 2014. For the 2011 season, Rocha was named as the Conference USA Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year.[1] He was selected to the All-Conference USA Third-Team in 2011, 2012, and 2013.[1][2][3] In 2014, Rocha was a captain of the University of Tulsa men's soccer team and helped lead the team to a conference championship.[4] Rocha was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 2014 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament.[5]

Club career

Sporting Kansas City

Rocha was selected by Sporting Kansas City in the fourth round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.[6] They cut him prior to the start of the season.

Austin Aztex

On 9 March 2015, Rocha signed with Austin Aztex for the 2015 USL season.[7] This would be the team's final season before dissolving and Rocha was forced to find a new club.

Orlando City B

On 15 October 2015, Rocha became one of the first three players to sign with newly formed USL team Orlando City B along with Mikey Ambrose and Kyle Callan-McFadden.[8]

Orlando City

Rocha signed a short-term agreement with Orlando City on 15 June 2016 for a 2016 U.S. Open Cup match.[9]

On 3 August 2016, Orlando City acquired Rocha's MLS rights from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft[10] and he was signed to an MLS contract the day after.

Saint Louis FC

Rocha was loaned to Saint Louis FC on 6 April 2018.[11] He returned to Orlando a week later having played twice. At the end of the season the club announced they had not picked up his contract option.[12]

New York City FC

On 12 December 2018, Rocha had his rights acquired by New York City FC in exchange for a 2019 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick.[13] Rocha scored his first and only goal for the club on 25 October 2020 in a 3–1 win over Montreal Impact.[14] Following the 2021 season, New York City opted to decline their contract option on Rocha.[15]

Orange County SC

On 18 February 2022, Rocha signed with USL Championship side Orange County SC.[16]

International career

Belize

2019: Debut and CONCACAF Nations League

In September 2019, Rocha was called into Belize for its CONCACAF Nations League matches against French Guiana and Grenada.[17] He made his international debut on 8 September 2019 in Belize's 2–1 loss to Grenada.[18]

2022: Return

On 2 June 2022, Rocha returned to Belize for the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League. He would play in the first match of Group B against the Dominican Republic, in which would end in a 2–0 defeat. This was Rocha's final game for the team.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 November 2020[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Austin Aztex 2012[21] PDL 7 3 0 0 – – 7 3
Tulsa Athletic 2014 NPSL 4 2 – – – 4 2
Austin Aztex 2015 USL 25 1 1 0 – – 26 1
Total 32 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 33 4
Orlando City 2016 MLS 8 0 2 0 – – 10 0
2017 3 0 0 0 – – 3 0
2018 12 0 1 0 – – 13 0
Total 23 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 26 0
Orlando City B 2016 USL 19 1 – – – 19 1
2017 14 0 – – – 14 0
Total 33 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 1
Saint Louis FC (loan) 2018 USL 2 0 – – – 2 0
New York City 2019 MLS 17 1 1 0 – 0 0 18 1
2020 11 0 – 1[a] 0 1[b] 0 13 0
Total 28 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 31 1
Career total 122 8 5 0 1 0 1 0 129 8
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs

International

As of match played 3 June 2022[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Belize 2019 3 0
2022 1 0
Total 4 0

Honors

New York City FC


References

  1. ^ a b "Tony Rocha Named C-USA Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa.
  2. ^ "Cristian Mata Named as C-USA Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa.
  3. ^ "Five Tulsa Men's Soccer Players Named to All-Conference USA Teams – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa.
  4. ^ "Tony Rocha - Men's Soccer - University of Tulsa Athletics". Tulsa Hurricane.
  5. ^ "Tulsa Men's Soccer Team Claims The American Championship on Penalty Kicks – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa.
  6. ^ "Tulsa's Tony Rocha Selected in MLS SuperDraft by Sporting KC – University of Tulsa". University of Tulsa.
  7. ^ "Tony Rocha Returns To Austin Aztex – Austin Aztex". austinaztex.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Orlando City Announces Orlando City B, Signs Defenders Mikey Ambrose, Kyle Callan-McFadden, Midfielder Tony Rocha". 15 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Orlando City SC Signs Tony Rocha to Short Term Agreement". 15 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Orlando City Acquires Rights to OCB Midfielder Tony Rocha From Sporting Kansas City". 3 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Orlando City SC Loans Tony Rocha to Saint Louis FC". 6 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Orlando City declines options for eight players after tough 2018 season | Pro Soccer USA". www.prosoccerusa.com. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  13. ^ "New York City FC Acquires Midfielder Tony Rocha | New York City FC".
  14. ^ "GOAL Tony Rocha, NYCFC - 86th minute". MLSsoccer.com. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  15. ^ FC, New York City. "New York City FC Announces Roster Moves For 2022". New York City FC.
  16. ^ "Orange County Inks Veteran Midfielder Tony Rocha". 18 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Internationals - Seven Players Called Up in September". New York City FC. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Game Detail". www.concacafnationsleague.com.
  19. ^ "Lopez, Romero goals earn Dominican Republic win at Belize". Concacaf. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  20. ^ Tony Rocha at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Tony Rocha | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  22. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Tony Rocha". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  23. ^ "2021 MLS Cup". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
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