Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Malik Pinto | ||
Date of birth | August 9, 2002 | ||
Place of birth | Durham, North Carolina, United States | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
2015–2020 | North Carolina Fusion | ||
2020–2021 | FC Cincinnati | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2022 | Princeton Tigers | 34 | (2) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2023–2024 | FC Cincinnati 2 | 13 | (3) |
2023–2024 | FC Cincinnati | 33 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 31, 2024 |
Malik Pinto (born August 9, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder.
Pinto was born on August 9, 2002, in Durham, North Carolina to Meleata and Hassan Pinto. [1] He grew up in a sports-focused family; his father Hassan played soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, his mother Meleata played for Tar Heels softball, his sister Brianna plays in the National Women's Soccer League, and his brother Hassan played in the USL Championship. He played youth soccer with the North Carolina Fusion academy for five seasons, and attended Charles E. Jordan High School. [2]
In August 2019, Pinto committed to enroll at Princeton University in 2020 and join the Princeton Tigers men's soccer team. [3] However, after the 2020 NCAA season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pinto joined the academy of FC Cincinnati, a Major League Soccer club, where he played for the under-19 team. He returned to the Princeton team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. [1] Across his two-year career with the Tigers, Pinto played in all 34 games (starting in 30 of them), scoring 2 goals and earning 6 assists. [2] He was named to the All-Ivy League second team in 2021, and was an All-Ivy honorable mention in 2022. [1]
On January 6, 2023, FC Cincinnati announced they had signed Pinto to a contract through the end of 2024, with options for 2025 and 2026. [1] He made his professional debut on March 25, 2023, in a 1–0 road win against Nashville SC. FC Cincinnati was down several players in midfield, with Junior Moreno and Marco Angulo on international duty and Yuya Kubo injured, and thus turned to Pinto to play as a starter.
Pinto was noted in local media for a strong debut performance, as he completed 22 of 22 passes successfully and notched one clearance, one blocked shot, and one tackle. [4] Head coach Pat Noonan spoke positively of his performance, saying, "You could see just the IQ for a player that is usually not in that position to come in and help us connect the right passes." [5]
FC Cincinnati
Charles E. Jordan High School is located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is one of seven high schools in Durham Public Schools. It is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham. The school mascot is the falcon.
Scott William Bradley is an American former Major League Baseball catcher who played in the major leagues from 1984 to 1992. He played for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, and Cincinnati Reds. He is the head coach of the Princeton Tigers baseball team.
Courtney Rosholt Banghart is an American basketball coach who is currently the head women's basketball coach at North Carolina. Prior to North Carolina, she served as head coach at Princeton from 2007 to 2019.
Elmar Bolowich was most recently head coach of the George Mason Patriots men's soccer team at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, United States. He was previously the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's soccer team at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for eight years after leaving his 22-year tenure as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team at the University of North Carolina.
Jalil Anibaba is an American former professional soccer player who last played in Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew. He is currently a club ambassador for Nashville SC.
Kirk Jon Urso was an American professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. A product of Glenbard East High School and the IMG Soccer Academy, Urso played four years of college soccer at North Carolina. He helped the Tar Heels win three Atlantic Coast Conference titles, reach four consecutive College Cups, and claim a national championship in 2011. Upon his graduation, Urso's 91 appearances for North Carolina were the most in program history.
Antoine Laurent Hoppenot is a French former footballer.
Benjamin Vance Speas is a former American soccer player who played as a forward. Speas played for Columbus Crew, Minnesota United, Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC, before retiring on November 10, 2020.
Miguel Angel "Mikey" Lopez Jr. is an American professional soccer player who currently plays as a left-back for USL League One club Portland Hearts of Pine.
Daniel Garcia is an American soccer player.
Tyler Tompkins Lussi is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the Princeton Tigers before being drafted by the Portland Thorns in the 2017 NWSL College Draft. She has also played for Angel City FC for which she mostly played at right back.
Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer League (USL) franchise which played from 2016 to 2018. On May 29, 2018, the club's ownership was awarded an MLS franchise, and the team began MLS play on March 2, 2019. The club's ownership group is led by Carl Lindner III with Jeff Berding serving as co-CEO. Currently, the role of general manager is held by Chris Albright.
Tyler Freeman is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for MLS Next Pro clubs Carolina Core.
Sebastian Matthew Berhalter is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Hassan Pinto is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.
Calvin Harris is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids.
Brianna Alexis Smalls Pinto is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
The 2023 FC Cincinnati season was the club's fifth season in MLS, and the eighth season overall for the team including their first three years in the lower-division USL Championship. The club entered 2023 on a high note, having notched their first playoff appearance and first playoff win in 2022 after languishing at the bottom of the standings for their first three seasons in MLS. On September 30, FC Cincinnati clinched the Supporters' Shield, the award given to the team that finishes with the most points in the regular season.
Milo Garvanian is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chattanooga FC in MLS Next Pro.
Tate Johnson is an American soccer player who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.