Aaron Herrera (footballer)

Aaron Herrera

Herrera with Real Salt Lake in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Aaron Joseph Herrera[1]
Date of birth	(1997-06-06) 6 June 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	D.C. United
Number	22
Youth career
2012–2015	Real Salt Lake AZ
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015–2017	New Mexico Lobos	54	(7)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	FC Tucson	11	(0)
2018–2022	Real Salt Lake	124	(1)
2018	Real Monarchs	5	(0)
2022–2023	CF Montréal	19	(0)
2024–	D.C. United	30	(1)
International career^‡
2017	United States U20	3	(0)
2019–2021	United States U23	6	(0)
2021	United States	1	(0)
2023–	Guatemala	12	(0)
Medal record Representing  United States Winner CONCACAF U-20 Championship 2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2024

Aaron Joseph Herrera (born 6 June 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Born in the United States, he plays for the Guatemala national team.

Early career

Herrera played three years of college soccer at the University of New Mexico between 2015 and 2017, scoring 20 goals and tallying 8 assists in 54 appearances.^[3]

Herrera also played with Premier Development League side FC Tucson in 2016 and 2017.^[4]

Professional career

On 15 December 2017, Herrera signed as a Homegrown Player for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.^[5]

On 21 December 2022, Herrera was traded to CF Montréal for $500,000 in General Allocation Money, a 2023 international roster spot, Montréal's 2023 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick and a sell-on fee.^[6]

On 12 December 2023, D.C. United acquired Herrera from CF Montréal in exchange for Brazilian defender Ruan and $500,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money.^[7] During his maiden season with the club, Herrera was named to the 2024 MLS All-Star Team.^[8]

International career

United States

Internationally, Herrera had represented the United States U20s.^[9] In January 2021, Herrera made one appearance for the senior United States in a 7–0 friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago.^{[citation needed]}

He was named to the final 20-player United States under-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2021.^[10]

Guatemala

In June 2023, Herrera was named to Guatemala's preliminary squad ahead of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[11] He made his Guatemala debut on 15 June in a friendly match against Costa Rica.^[12]

Personal life

Herrera was born in the United States to a Guatemalan father, Diego Herrera and American mother, Donni Herrera.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 October 2024^[13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Real Monarchs	2018	United Soccer League	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
Real Salt Lake	2018	Major League Soccer	16	0	1[a]	0	—		3[b]	0	20	0
	2019		32	0	—		1[c]	0	2[b]	0	35	0
	2020		20	0	—		—		1[d]	0	21	0
	2021		29	1	—		—		3[b]	0	32	1
	2022		27	0	—		—		—		27	0
	Total		124	1	1	0	1	0	9	0	135	1
CF Montréal	2023	Major League Soccer	19	0	2[e]	0	2[c]	0	—		23	0
D.C. United	2024	Major League Soccer	30	1	0	0	3[c]	0	—		33	1
Career total			178	2	3	0	6	0	9	0	196	2

1. Appearance in U.S. Open Cup
2. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
3. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
4. Appearance in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
5. Appearances in Canadian Championship

International

As of match played 15 October 2024 ^[14]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States	2021	1	0
	Total	1	0
Guatemala	2023	6	0
	2024	6	0
	Total	12	0
Career total		13	0

Honours

United States U20

• CONCACAF Under-20 Championship: 2017^[15]

Individual

• MLS All-Star: 2024

References

1. "Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying – Rosters Provisional Lists" (PDF). mcusercontent.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
2. "Aaron Herrera". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
3. "Aaron Herrera – 2017". golobos.com. The University of New Mexico. 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
4. "Aaron Herrera". uslpdl.com. USL PDL. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
5. "Real Salt Lake sign Homegrown defender Aaron Herrera, Monarchs' Taylor Peay". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 15 December 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
6. "CF Montréal acquire Aaron Herrera in trade with Real Salt Lake | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
7. "D.C. United Acquire Defender Aaron Herrera from CF Montréal in Exchange for $500K GAM and Defender Ruan". dcunited.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
8. "Forward Christian Benteke and Defender Aaron Herrera Selected to the 2024 MLS All-Star Game". dcunited.com. D.C. United. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
9. "Las Cruces born soccer player riding high after U-20 World Cup experience". lcsun-news.com. Las Cruces Sun-News. 16 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
10. "U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Head Coach Jason Kreis Names Roster for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship". www.ussoccer.com. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
11. "National team roster – 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup" (PDF). 1 June 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
12. "El jugador del CF Montreal destaca en la alineación de la Bicolor para enfrentar a Costa Rica". ESPNDeportes.com (in Spanish). 16 June 2023. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
13. Aaron Herrera at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
14. Aaron Herrera at National-Football-Teams.com
15. "U-20 MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM CLAIMS FIRST CONCACAF U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH SHOOTOUT WIN VS. HONDURAS". ussoccer.com. 5 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2021.

External links

• Aaron Herrera at Major League Soccer
• Real Salt Lake Player Profile Archived 12 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Aaron Herrera at Soccerway