Introduction
Rafael Alejandro Díaz (born 8 October 1991) is a Dominican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Sacramento Republic in the USL Championship.
Career
Youth and college
Díaz played club soccer for PDA in New Jersey. Díaz also played college soccer for St. John’s University from 2010 to 2013. While with the Red Storm he was a four-year starter and made 72 appearances and recorded a school record 32 shutouts.
During his college career Díaz also played with USL PDL side Jersey Express S.C., making 11 appearances as a starter during the 2012 season .
Professional
Coming out of St. John's Díaz was considered one of top Goalkeeper prospects in the country. On March 20, 2014 Díaz signed his first professional contract with USL Pro side Orlando City SC. Díaz made his first team debut with Orlando on May 14, 2014 coming on as a late game substitute for Carl Woszczynski in a 4-1 U.S. Open Cup victory over Ocala Stampede.
Díaz went on trial with Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls during the 2015 preseason. He caught the attention of the club and signed with New York Red Bulls II for the 2015 season and made the game day roster for the side in its first ever match on March 28, 2015 which ended in a 0-0 draw with Rochester Rhinos. On April 12, 2015 he made his debut with the club coming on as a late game substitute in a match against Wilmington Hammerheads FC. On April 18, 2015 Díaz made his debut as a starter for New York Red Bulls II in a 1-1 draw against the Charleston Battery.
On April 17, 2016 Díaz made his season debut for New York in a scoreless draw against the defending league champion Rochester Rhinos. His performance that day earned him USL Team of the Week honors.
On January 24, 2017 the New York Red Bulls announced that Díaz had been signed to an MLS contract after two years with the reserve team.
On February 6, 2018 Díaz signed with Sacramento Republic FC for the 2018 season.
Career statistics
- As of 22 July 2017
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | US Open Cup | CONCACAF | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| New York Red Bulls II | 2015 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Career total | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
Honors
Club
New York Red Bulls II
- USL Cup: 2016