Sam Junqua
{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Sam Junqua
| image =
| fullname = Samuel Junqua
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|11|09}}
| birth_place = Saratoga, California, United States
| height = 6ft 0in{{cite web |title=Sam Junqua |url=https://www.fcdallas.com/players/sam-junqua/ |publisher=FC Dallas |access-date=June 3, 2023}}
| currentclub = Real Salt Lake
| clubnumber =
| position = Defender
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = De Anza Force
| collegeyears1 = 2015–2018
| college1 = California Golden Bears
| collegecaps1 = 68
| collegegoals1 = 0
| years1 = 2017
| clubs1 = FC Golden State Force
| caps1 = 7
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2018
| clubs2 = San Francisco Glens
| caps2 = 6
| goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2019–2022
| clubs3 = Houston Dynamo
| caps3 = 46
| goals3 = 1
| years4 = 2019
| clubs4 = → Rio Grande Valley FC (loan)
| caps4 = 17
| goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2023–2024
| clubs5 = FC Dallas
| caps5 = 54
| goals5 = 3
| years6 = 2025–
| clubs6 = Real Salt Lake
| caps6 = 4
| goals6 = 0
| nationalyears1 =
| nationalteam1 =
| nationalcaps1 =
| nationalgoals1 =
| nationalteam-update =
| club-update = March 16, 2025
}}
Samuel Junqua (born November 9, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake.
Career
=Youth & College=
Junqua attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he played college soccer for four years between 2015 and 2018, making 68 appearances and tallying 3 assists.{{cite web|url=https://calbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5050|title=Sam Junqua - Men's Soccer -2015 M Soccer Roster|website=calbears.com|access-date=2019-03-17}} He was named to the 2018 All-Pac-12 third team.{{Cite web|title=Pac-12 announces Men's Soccer All-Conference honors|url=https://pac-12.com/article/2018/11/07/pac-12-announces-mens-soccer-all-conference-honors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123022747/https://pac-12.com/article/2018/11/07/pac-12-announces-mens-soccer-all-conference-honors|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 23, 2018|access-date=2021-01-26|website=pac-12.com|language=en}}
While in college, Junqua played in the PDL with FC Golden State Force{{cite web|url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/18032669|website=uslleaguetwo.com|title=FC Golden State Force 2017 Roster - Samuel Junqua|access-date=2019-03-17}} and San Francisco Glens.{{cite web|url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/24366044|website=uslleaguetwo.com|title=San Francisco Glens 2018 Roster - Samuel Junqua|access-date=2019-03-17}}
=Professional career=
== Houston Dynamo ==
On January 11, 2019, Junqua was drafted 8th overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo and was signed by the club on January 22, 2019.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/01/22/houston-dynamo-sign-top-superdraft-selection-sam-junqua|title=Houston Dynamo sign top SuperDraft selection Sam Junqua
|website=mlssoccer.com|access-date=2019-03-17}} Junqua made his Dynamo debut on June 18, getting the start in a 3–2 loss to Minnesota United in a U.S. Open Cup match. He made his first appearance in a continental competition and his second overall appearance with the Dynamo on July 24, coming on as a sub in a Leagues Cup match with Club America.{{Cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/samuel-junqua/484202/matches/|title=USA - S. Junqua - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway|website=us.soccerway.com|access-date=2019-11-28}}
Junqua spent most of the 2019 season on loan with the Dynamo's USL Championship affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC. He made his first appearance for the Toros on March 16, playing the full 90 in a 2–0 loss to Fresno FC.{{Cite web |title=Sam Junqua 2019 Match Logs |url=https://fbref.com/en/players/91981d97/matchlogs/2019/summary/Sam-Junqua-Match-Logs |access-date=2023-02-19 |website=FBref.com |language=en}} He would go on to make 17 appearances with RGVFC in his first pro season.
On July 13, 2020, Junqua made his first appearance of the season and first MLS appearance of his career, coming on as a substitute in a 3–3 draw with LAFC. He scored his first goal for the Dynamo on October 3 in a 2–1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. He made his first career MLS start on October 7 in a 2–0 win over Texas Derby rivals FC Dallas. Junqua finished the year with 9 appearances and 1 goal in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|title=Sam Junqua 2020 Match Logs|url=https://fbref.com/en/players/91981d97/matchlogs/2020/summary/Sam-Junqua-Match-Logs|access-date=2020-11-11|website=FBref.com|language=en}} It was a poor season for Houston as a team, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs again.{{Cite web|title=Major League Soccer Stats|url=https://fbref.com/en/comps/22/Major-League-Soccer-Stats|access-date=2020-11-11|website=FBref.com|language=en}}
Junqua missed the first 8 games of the 2021 season after suffering a concussion in the final preseason match.{{Cite web|last=Roepkin|first=Corey|date=July 2, 2021|title=Sam Junqua's return from injury gives Dynamo more options at centerback|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/dynamo/article/Sam-Junqua-s-return-from-injury-gives-Dynamo-16290885.php|access-date=November 10, 2021|website=Houston Chronicle}} He made his first appearance of the season on June 19, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against LAFC.{{Cite web|title=Sam Junqua 2021 Match Logs|url=https://fbref.com/en/players/91981d97/matchlogs/2021/summary/Sam-Junqua-Match-Logs|access-date=2021-11-10|website=FBref.com|language=en}} On July 3, Junqua picked up his first career MLS assist in a 1–1 draw with FC Cincinnati. He ended the season with 22 appearances, 18 of them starts, and 1 assist, splitting time playing as both a left-back and as a center-back. The season was another disappointing one for Houston, with the Dynamo finishing last in the West for the 2nd straight season and failing to qualify for the playoffs once again.{{Cite web|title=Major League Soccer Stats|url=https://fbref.com/en/comps/22/Major-League-Soccer-Stats|access-date=2021-11-10|website=FBref.com|language=en}}
Junqua made 15 MLS appearances, 4 of them starts, and had an assist during the 2022 season as the Dynamo finished 13th in the conference, missing out on the playoffs.{{Cite web |title=Sam Junqua-Match Log |url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sam-junqua/match-log/ |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Major League Soccer}} In the Open Cup, Junqua started all 3 games for Houston. On April 19, in their first cup game of the season, Junqua scored 3 minutes into stoppage time to give the Dynamo a 2–1 win over RGVFC. In the next round, he set up Sebastián Ferreira in the 82nd minute for a 1–0 win over San Antonio FC. Junqua's contract expired following the 2022 season.{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2022 |title=Dynamo decline contract options on three players and expand open roster spots to 11 |url=https://www.houstondynamofc.com/news/dynamo-decline-contract-options-on-three-players-and-expand-open-roster-spots-to |access-date=February 19, 2023 |website=Houston Dynamo FC}}
== FC Dallas ==
On February 23, 2023, Junqua signed with FC Dallas after the club acquired his rights from Houston in exchange for $75,000 of GAM.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=February 23, 2023 |title=FC Dallas Signs Defender Sam Junqua |url=https://www.fcdallas.com/news/fc-dallas-signs-defender-sam-junqua |access-date=February 24, 2023 |website=FC Dallas}}
== Real Salt Lake ==
On December 23, 2024, Real Salt Lake acquired Junqua from FC Dallas and up to $500k in GAM in exchange for Anderson Julio.{{Cite web|date=23 December 2024|title=FC Dallas acquire Anderson Julio, Sam Junqua joins Real Salt Lake|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/fc-dallas-acquire-anderson-julio-sam-junqua-joins-real-salt-lake|access-date=23 December 2024|website=MLS}}
Career statistics
{{Updated|February 19, 2023|{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/sam-junqua|title=Sam Junqua|website=mlssoccer.com|access-date=November 27, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://fbref.com/en/players/91981d97/Sam-Junqua|title=Sam Junqua Stats|website=FBref.com|language=en|access-date=2019-11-28}}{{Cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/samuel-junqua/484202/|title=USA - S. Junqua - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway|website=us.soccerway.com|access-date=2019-11-28}}}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||||||
| rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season !colspan=3|League !colspan=2|Playoffs !colspan=2|National cup !colspan=2|Continental !colspan=2|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| FC Golden State Force
|2017 |PDL |7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2" |— | 8 | 0 | ||
| San Francisco Glens
|2018 |PDL |6 | 1 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |– | colspan="2" |— | 6 | 1 | ||||
| rowspan="5" |Houston Dynamo
|2019 | rowspan="4" |MLS |0 | 0 | colspan=2|— | 1 | 0 | 1{{efn|Appearance in Leagues Cup}} | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020
|9 | 1 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 2021
|22 | 0 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | 22 | 0 | ||||
| 2022
|15 | 0 | colspan="2" |— | 3 | 1 | colspan="2" |— | 18 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2" |Total
!46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 2 | |
| Rio Grande Valley FC (loan)
|2019 |USLC |17 | 0 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— | 17 | 0 | ||||
| colspan="3" |Career total
!76 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 3 |
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Real Salt Lake squad}}
{{DynamoFirstPick}}
{{2019 MLS SuperDraft}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junqua, Sam}}
Category:American men's soccer players
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:California Golden Bears men's soccer players
Category:De Anza Force players
Category:FC Golden State Force players
Category:Houston Dynamo FC draft picks
Category:Houston Dynamo FC players
Category:Sportspeople from Saratoga, California
Category:Real Salt Lake players
Category:Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players
Category:San Francisco Glens players
Category:Soccer players from Santa Clara County, California
Category:USL Championship players
Category:USL League Two players