| Tarek Morad | |
| Birth Date: | 21 August 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Position: | Center back, Defensive midfielder |
| Youthyears1: | 2004–2010 |
| Youthclubs1: | Arsenal FC (California) |
| Youthyears2: | 2006–2010 |
| Youthclubs2: | Chino Hills High School |
| Youthyears3: | 2013 |
| Youthclubs3: | Chivas USA |
| Collegeyears1: | 2010 |
| College1: | Mt. Sac Mounties |
| Collegeyears2: | 2011–2013 |
| College2: | UC Irvine Anteaters |
| Collegecaps2: | 61 |
| Collegegoals2: | 3 |
| Years1: | 2013 |
| Caps1: | 5 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2014 |
| Caps2: | 13 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2015–2017 |
| Clubs3: | Louisville City |
| Caps3: | 72 |
| Goals3: | 4 |
| Years4: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs4: | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Caps4: | 46 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2020 |
| Clubs5: | San Diego Loyal |
| Caps5: | 6 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2021–2023 |
| Clubs6: | Oakland Roots |
| Caps6: | 71 |
| Goals6: | 2 |
| Club-Update: | October 22, 2023 |
Tarek Morad (Arabic: طارق مراد; born August 21, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who last played for Oakland Roots in the USL Championship.
Tarek was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Chino Hills, California to Egyptian parents and has two older brothers.[1] He attended Chino Hills High School where he would twice win the Sierra League and be named the Sierra League MVP as a Junior.[2]
Morad was to originally play college soccer at UC Riverside as a midfielder but his scholarship offer was rescinded. Instead he enrolled at Mt. San Antonio College in 2010. While at Mt. San Antonio he led the Mounties to the South Coast Conference Title as well the California Junior College State Championship. He was also named to the All-Conference team.[3]
In 2011 Morad would transfer to UC Irvine where he would be converted to a defender.[3] He would play in 61 matches and score three goals during his time there. During his Senior year UC Irvine would win the Big West Conference Title and would make it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament; a school record.[4]
In 2013 Morad also play with the Chivas USA U23 team. Chivas would finish the year unbeaten on their way to the Coast Soccer League Championship where Morad would score the final goal of Championship match.[4]
Morad would go undrafted in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft and after a trial with Seattle Sounders FC[4] would sign with United Soccer League expansion side OKC Energy FC on February 27.[5] He would appear in 13 of Oklahoma's 28 regular season matches without scoring a goal.
On February 19 Morad would sign with another USL expansion team; Louisville City FC.[6] He would make his debut on March 28 against Saint Louis and appear in 26 of Louisville's 28 regular season matches; scoring 2 goals. He'd also play in two of Louisville's three US Open Cup matches and both of their USL Cup matches.[7]
Morad would play in 20 of Louisville's 30 regular season matches and make his season debut on April 2 against Orlando City B. He scored his lone goal on June 21 against Toronto[8] and would also contribute 2 assists. He played in one of Louisville's US Open Cup matches as well as all three of Louisville's USL Cup matches.
Morad would play in 26 of Louisville's 32 regular season matches and make his season debut on March 25 against Saint Louis. He also played in both of Louisville's US Open Cup matches as well as all four of Louisville's USL Cup matches. He scored his lone goal of the regular season in the final match against Richmond off the rebounded his own missed penalty kick. This goal made him the 17th and final outfield player to score for Louisville during the season; the entire outfield roster.[9] He would also score a brace in the first half of Louisville's opening USL Cup match against Bethlehem. Morad and Louisville would go on to win the USL Cup Final against Swope Park.
Morad would not be resigned by Louisville after the season.[10] He left Louisville as their all-time leader in both league and overall appearances with 75 and 88 appearances respectively.
On August 8 Morad signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies[11] of the USL and made his Tampa debut on the day, helping the Rowdies earn a clean sheet against Charleston.[12]
The 2019 season saw Morad become a crucial player for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, making 34 appearances[13] as his team finished 5th in the Eastern Conference,[14] before losing the Conference Quarter Final 2–1 to his old team Louisville City on October 27, 2019.[15] On November 19, 2019, Morad announced on his Twitter account that he was leaving the Tampa Bay Rowdies.[16]
On September 1, 2020, Morad joined USL Championship side San Diego Loyal for the remainder of the season.[17]
On December 21, 2020, it was announced that Morad would join USL Championship side Oakland Roots ahead of their inaugural season in the league.[18] After three seasons with the club, he was not re-signed for the 2024 season. [19]
Professional appearances – correct as of November 25, 2020.[20]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| OC Blues Strikers | 2013 | USL League Two | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Oklahoma City Energy | 2014 | USL Championship | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Louisville City | 2015 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2016 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||||
| 2017 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 2 | 32 | 3 | ||||
| Louisville City Total | 72 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | 86 | 6 | ||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2018 | USL Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||||
| Tampa Bay Rowdies Total | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||||
| San Diego Loyal | 2020 | USL Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Career Total | 142 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 159 | 6 | |||
Louisville City FC