Grant Lillard

Grant Lillard
Personal information
Full name Grant Lillard[1]
Date of birth (1995-12-05) December 5, 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2012–2014 Chicago Fire
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Indiana Hoosiers 86 (14)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Chicago Fire 12 (0)
2019 → Lansing Ignite (loan) 4 (0)
2020 Inter Miami 0 (0)
2020–2021 Columbus Crew 0 (0)
2022 Loudoun United 16 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 23, 2022

Grant Lillard (born December 5, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender.

Early life

Youth

Lillard moved to Hinsdale, Illinois and enrolled at Hinsdale Central, playing soccer for the Chicago Fire Academy (U16 and U18).[2] While living in Arizona, he played soccer for the Scottsdale Soccer Club 96 Blackhawks, winning Arizona State Championships in 2009, 2010, and 2011. One of his close childhood friends is Ryan Scales. Scales was one of the all-time leading scorers for the Hinsdale Central High School Men's Basketball program.[3]

College

Lillard attended Indiana University, where he played college soccer as a center back for the Hoosiers from 2014 to 2017, tallying a total of 14 goals and 9 assists in 86 appearances. During his time at Indiana, Lillard was a three-time First-Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and a First-Team All-American.[4]

Professional career

Chicago Fire

On January 10, 2018, Lillard signed a one-year contract with Chicago Fire as a Homegrown Player, with options for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.[5]

Lillard made his professional debut on April 7, 2018 as a 64th minute substitution in a 1–0 win over the Columbus Crew SC.[6] He made his first professional start on April 14, 2018 in a 1–0 loss to the LA Galaxy.

Inter Miami

On November 14, 2019, Lillard was traded to Inter Miami in exchange for $75,000 in General Allocation Money.[7]

Columbus Crew

On August 14, 2020, Lillard was traded to Columbus Crew in exchange for a third round 2021 MLS SuperDraft pick.[8] Lillard failed to make a single appearance during the 2020 season for Columbus,[9] however, he was part of the squad that won the 2020 MLS Cup.[10] On December 14, 2020, Columbus announced that it had exercised Lillard's option for the 2021 season.[11] Following the 2021 season, Columbus opted to decline their contract option on Lillard.[12]

Loudoun United

On January 28, 2022, Lillard signed with USL Championship side Loudoun United, the lower-league affiliate of D.C. United.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of June 28, 2021[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chicago Fire 2018 MLS 8 0 1 0 0 0 9 0
2019 MLS 4 0 1 0 1[a] 0 6 0
Total 12 0 2 0 1 0 15 0
Lansing Ignite (loan) 2019 USL 4 0 — — 4 0
Inter Miami 2020 MLS 0 0 — — 0 0
Columbus Crew 2020 MLS 0 0 — — 0 0
2021 MLS 0 0 — 1[b] 0 1
Career total 16 0 2 0 2 0 20 0
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
  2. ^ Includes 1 appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League

Honors

Indiana University

Columbus Crew

References

  1. ^ "Grant Lillard MLS Bio". MLSSoccer.com.
  2. ^ "Fire announce signing of homegrown defender Grant Lillard".
  3. ^ "Grant Lillard". iuhoosiers.com.
  4. ^ "Grant Lillard". mlssoccer.com.
  5. ^ "Chicago Fire sign Indiana University star Grant Lillard to Homegrown deal". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. November 15, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Phil West Apr 8, 2018 (April 8, 2018). "Recap: Chicago Fire vs. Columbus Crew SC 04/08/2018 | Matchcenter". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved June 4, 2019.{cite web}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Inter Miami acquire Grant Lillard from Chicago Fire". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. November 14, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  8. ^ "Columbus Crew SC acquire Grant Lillard in trade from Inter Miami". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. August 14, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "USA - Columbus Crew - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Straus, Brian. "Resilient at Their Core, Crew Are Fitting MLS Cup Champions in 2020". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "Columbus Crew announces roster, contract decisions for 2021 after MLS Cup championship". msn.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "Columbus Crew Announces End-of-2021 Roster Decisions | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com.
  13. ^ "Loudoun United Fc Today Announced Four Player Signings for the Upcoming 2022 Usl Championship Season". January 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Grant Lillard at Soccerway. Retrieved January 5, 2021.

External links