Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 9, 2026

Nick Lima

Nicholas Lima is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender.

Last revised
Jul 9, 2026
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Nick Lima
Lima with the United States in 2019
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Lima1
Date of birth (1994-11-17) November 17, 1994
Place of birth Castro Valley, California, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)
Position Defender
Youth career
2010–2011 San Jose Earthquakes
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 California Golden Bears 72 (6)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Burlingame Dragons 8 (0)
2017−2020 San Jose Earthquakes 100 (7)
2021–2023 Austin FC 95 (1)
2024 New England Revolution 25 (1)
2025 San Jose Earthquakes 11 (0)
Total 239 (9)
International career
2019 United States 9 (0)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Runner-up CONCACAF Gold Cup 2019
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicholas Lima (born November 17, 1994) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender.

Early life

Lima played four years of college soccer at the University of California, Berkeley between 2013 and 2016.2

Club career

Burlingame Dragons

While at college, Lima also made several appearances for Premier Development League club Burlingame Dragons.3

San Jose Earthquakes

2017: Debut season and Rookie of the Year Award

Lima playing for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2017 source ↗

On December 21, 2016, Lima signed as a Homegrown Player for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes.4 He made his professional debut on March 4, 2017, starting in a 1–0 win over the Montreal Impact.5 His first professional goal was scored on March 11, 2017, in a 3–2 home victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC.6 It was the first goal scored by a Homegrown player in Earthquakes history. On October 14, 2017, he was announced as a nominee for two different league awards: the MLS Defender of the Year Award alongside teammate Florian Jungwirth, and the MLS Rookie of the Year Award, along with teammate Jackson Yueill.7

2020: Final season and departure

Despite putting on his best performances, it was announced that Lima's contract would not be renewed.8

Austin FC

On December 13, 2020, Lima was traded to Austin FC in exchange for $500,000 of General Allocation Money.9

New England Revolution

On December 11, 2023, Lima was traded to the New England Revolution in exchange for $275,000 of General Allocation Money.10 He scored his first goal for the Revolution on March 6, 2024, in the team's 4–0 win over Liga Deportiva Alajuelense in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.11

Return to San Jose Earthquakes

Lima became a free agent following a single season in New England, and returned to San Jose Earthquakes on a two-year deal on December 18, 2024 ahead of their upcoming 2025 season.12

He announced his retirement on January 16, 2026.13

International career

Born in the United States, Lima is of Mexican descent.14 On January 8, 2018, he received a call-up for the United States men's national soccer team for a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 28.15 He was named to the bench for the match but ultimately did not take the field during the 0–0 draw.16 He made his debut on January 27, 2019, in a friendly against Panama, starting the match.17 Lima played the full 90 minutes, recorded an assist, and was named Man of the Match in his international debut.

Career statistics

Club

As of October 21, 20231819
Club Season League Playoffs National cup Continental Othera Totals
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Burlingame Dragons FC 2016 USL PDL 8 0 - - — — 8 0
San Jose Earthquakes 2017 Major League Soccer 22 2 0 0 4 0 — — 26 2
2018 34 2 — 0 0 — — 34 2
2019 24 1 — 0 0 — — 24 1
2020 20 2 1 0 — — — 21 2
Total 100 7 1 0 4 0 0 0 — 105 7
Austin FC 2021 Major League Soccer 28 0 — — — — 28 0
2022 34 0 3 0 0 0 — — 37 0
2023 33 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 37 1
Total 95 1 3 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 104 1
Career totals 203 8 4 0 6 0 2 0 2 0 217 8
  1. Includes Leagues Cup

International

As of October 15, 2019

National Team Year Apps Goals
United States 2019 9 0
Total 9 0

Source: US Soccer

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: United States" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 16. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Bernews.
  2. "CalBears.com - University of California Official Athletic Site". CalBears.com.
  3. "Player Stats". USL PDL. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  4. "NEWS: Earthquakes Sign Nick Lima to Homegrown Player Contract". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  5. "San Jose Earthquakes 1, Montreal Impact 0 - 2017 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  6. "RECAP: Quakes 3, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  7. Jake Pisani (October 14, 2017). "FEATURE: Several San Jose Earthquakes nominated for MLS awards". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  8. "San Jose Earthquakes 2020 player postmortem: Nick Lima". Center Line Soccer. February 21, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
  9. "NEWS: Earthquakes Acquire $500k of Allocation Money in Trade with Austin FC". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. "Austin FC Agrees To Trade With New England Revolution". Austin FC. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  11. Bird, Hayden (March 6, 2024). "3 takeaways from the Revolution's 4-0 Champions Cup win over Alajuelense". Boston.com. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  12. "San Jose Earthquakes sign defender Nick Lima | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  13. "NEWS: Earthquakes Defender Nick Lima Announces Retirement from Professional Soccer". San Jose Earthquakes. January 16, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  14. "América y Chivas sueñan con Carlos Vela, Chicharito Hernández y Jonathan Dos Santos; llegarían prestados". Soy Fútbol (in Spanish). August 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  15. "Sarachan Calls 30 Player Roster to National Training Center for 2018 January Camp". USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  16. "MNT Opens 2018 with Spirited 0-0 Draw vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina". US Soccer. January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  17. "USA v Panama Game Report". Major League Soccer. January 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  18. "N. LIMA". Soccerway.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  19. Nick Lima at Major League Soccer
External links