Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | April 28, 1989 | ||
Place of birth | Buea, Cameroon | ||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Empire Strykers | ||
Number | 70 | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2008 | Tacoma Titans | ||
2009 | Garden City Broncbusters | ||
2010–2011 | West Virginia Mountaineers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2012 | Real Maryland | 9 | (0) |
2013 | Northern Virginia Royals | 8 | (0) |
2013 | NJ-LUSO Parma | 1 | (0) |
2012–2015 | Las Vegas Legends (indoor) | 29 | (9) |
2015–2016 | Baltimore Blast (indoor) | 16 | (4) |
2016–2018 | Soles de Sonora (indoor) | 31 | (7) |
2017–2018 | FC Wichita | 20 | (?) |
2018 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 6 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Monterrey Flash (indoor) | 16 | (2) |
2019 | FC Wichita | 6 | (0) |
2019 | Golden State Force | 0 | (0) |
2019– | Empire Strykers (indoor) | 58 | (3) |
2021 | → Wichita Wings (loan; indoor) | 8 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 December 2022 |
Uzi Tayou (born April 28, 1989) is a Cameroonian footballer who currently plays for the Empire Strykers of the Major Arena Soccer League. Tayou won the MASL Championship with the Baltimore Blast in 2016.
During his career in the league, Tayou has played for the Las Vegas Legends, [1] Baltimore Blast, Soles de Sonora, [2] and Monterrey Flash, [3] and Empire Strykers (formerly the Ontario Fury), and reached the MASL Ron Newman Cup Finals with three different teams. He has earned accolades including being named to the All-Star Game, [4] Defensive Player of the Year, and a league leader in blocked shots. [5]
In 2022, Tayou will once again represent Team USA with the United States National Arena Soccer Team in international competitions, [6] including the WMF World Cup.
Tayou moved to from his native Cameroon to Las Vegas in 2006 and rose to prominence with a successful college soccer career [7] at West Virginia University, which included two NCAA Tournaments. Tayou signed his first indoor professional contract with the MASL in 2012, and then his first outdoor professional contract in 2018, joining the Tulsa Roughnecks of the United Soccer League. [8] In May 2021, Uzi and his brother Franck joined the Wichita Wings for the remainder of the Major Arena Soccer League 2 season. [9]
He is the older brother of fellow professional soccer player and MASL MVP Franck Tayou.
For his ongoing work to help communities off the field, Tayou was awarded the Ed Tepper Humanitarian of the Year for the 2018-19 season. [10] He also pioneered a health and fitness program [11] for residents of National CORE affordable housing communities in the Inland Empire. [12]
The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, most recent being the 2018–19 champions of the Major Arena Soccer League.
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Franck Tayou is a Cameroon-born-American soccer player who currently plays for Utica City FC of the Major Arena Soccer League.
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