Nicolás Perea
Colombian-American footballer and beach soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolás Perea (born August 6, 1992) is a Colombian-born American footballer and beach soccer player. He last played as a midfielder for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship in 2019 and represents the United States in international beach soccer, contributing to their 2023 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship title.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolás Perea | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | August 6, 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bucaramanga, Colombia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Syracuse Orange | 76 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Ocean City Nor'easters | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | K-W United FC | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Jacksonville Armada | 24 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Rio Grande Valley FC | 33 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Des Moines Menace | 12 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Indy Eleven | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | United States (beach) | 34 | (13) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 27, 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals as of May 19, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
Perea was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, on August 6, 1992, and moved to the United States at age seven, settling in Hallandale Beach, Florida.[3] He played youth soccer with Weston FC and is bilingual in English and Spanish.[3] Perea graduated from Syracuse University in 2014 with a psychology degree.[3]
Career
College
Perea played college soccer for the Syracuse Orange from 2011 to 2014, appearing in 76 matches and scoring 10 goals.[4] He helped Syracuse reach the NCAA College Cup (Final Four) in 2012, their first appearance, and the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2014.[4] During college, Perea played in the USL PDL with Ocean City Nor'easters in 2013 (12 matches, 2 goals) and K-W United FC in 2014 (9 matches).[2][5][6]
Professional
Perea signed his first professional contract with the NASL’s Jacksonville Armada on February 10, 2015, playing 24 matches across 2015–2016.[7][2] He joined USL Championship side Rio Grande Valley FC in September 2017, making 33 appearances and scoring 3 goals over 2017–2018.[2]
In 2019, Perea played for USL League Two’s Des Moines Menace, recording 12 appearances and 2 goals.[2] He signed with USL Championship’s Indy Eleven on August 27, 2019, appearing in 5 matches before the season’s end.[8] Perea has not played professionally in the USL Championship since 2019, focusing instead on beach soccer.[9]
Beach soccer
Perea transitioned to beach soccer in 2019 after a local exhibition match in Florida led to an invitation to a U.S. national team camp in Fort Lauderdale, scouted by coach Francis Farberoff.[9][3] He debuted at the 2021 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, scoring 3 goals and helping the U.S. qualify for the 2021 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.[10][3] At the World Cup, he scored 4 goals.[11]
In 2022, Perea won the ANOC World Beach Games Qualifiers in El Salvador and was named U.S. Soccer Beach Male Player of the Year.[12] He earned a silver medal at the Mundialito Gran Canaria. In 2023, he scored 4 goals at the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in the Bahamas, contributing to the U.S.’s first CONCACAF title since 2013 with a 5–0 win over Mexico.[1] Perea has over 30 international appearances and 13 goals, with 50 career goals in six CONCACAF Championships, the most by a U.S. player.[1]
Personal life
Perea resides in Florida and assists his girlfriend, Taylor Dante,.[3] He has experience in social media management, videography, and photography, and has worked with brands like Smorgasburg Miami.