Fairleigh Dickinson men's soccer standout Dominic Reinold (Wesseling, Germany/Gesamtschule Rodenkirchen) has elected to forgo his final two years of eligibility in order to turn professional as he signed a two-year contract with S.C. Beira-Mar, a soccer team in Aveiro, Portugal that competes in Portugal's First Division.
“We are very excited for Dominic and this new chapter in his soccer career,” said Head Coach Seth Roland. “It is a dream come true for him.”
“We are not surprised with that fact that a pro club in a top European League would find Dominic to be an attractive option for them. We certainly wish him the best of luck.”
Reinold, a two-time First Team All-Northeast Conference performer and 2009 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, finishes his two-year FDU career with 21 goals, eight assists and 50 points. He was also named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Second Team All-North Atlantic Region after his sophomore campaign after collecting nine goals and four assists for 22 points.
Reinold is not the first FDU men's soccer player in recent history to pursue soccer at a higher level after two years of development in FDU's competitive soccer environment. Current United States National Team member Alejandro Bedoya, who played two seasons at FDU (2005, 2006), is playing professionally for Orebro SK, a professional soccer team in Orebro, Sweden that competes in Sweden's highest league, the Allsvenskan.
Bedoya was also a two-time First Team All-Northeast Conference performer as he scored 13 goals and collected eight assists in his two-year stint with the Knights.
“At FDU, we feel that we give our soccer student-athletes the opportunity to pursue the dream of playing professionally one day, while working towards a degree,” Roland added. “Dominic and Alejandro, who were both outstanding students in the classroom with GPA's well over 3.0, both flourished in their two years here. We are proud that we have created an environment for our soccer student-athletes to develop as people, students and soccer players.”
“FDU congratulates Dominic on the opportunity to play professional soccer,” said David Langford, Director of Athletics. “The men's soccer team, well disappointed in losing Dominic as a player, continues to celebrate the scholastic achievements of its current and former soccer student-athletes.”
“The men's soccer team is among the team leaders in retention and graduation rates thanks to the leadership of Coach Roland and his staff.”
