William Franklin Sands (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution.

Will Sands
Personal information
Full name William Franklin Sands[1]
Date of birth (2000-07-06) July 6, 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Rye, New York, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Team information
Current team
New England Revolution
Number 23
Youth career
2010–2015 New York Soccer Club
2015–2019 New York City FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Georgetown Hoyas 52 (4)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Manhattan SC 10 (4)
2022–2024 Columbus Crew 25 (0)
2022–2024 Columbus Crew 2 6 (0)
2024– New England Revolution 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of July 31, 2024

Youth and college career

edit

Sands played for New York City FC affiliate club New York Soccer Club before joining New York City FC's academy upon the creation of their U-16 Academy team in 2015.[2] Sands was part of the New York City FC academy system from 2015 until 2019.[3] He played college soccer at Georgetown from 2019 to 2021. During his time with the Hoyas, he made 56 appearances and scored 4 goals.[3] He helped the team win the 2019 NCAA College Cup and two Big East Tournaments.[3][4]

Sands played for Manhattan SC of USL League Two in 2021, playing in 10 games and scoring 4 goals.[5]

Professional career

edit

On January 21, 2022, Sands was announced as a homegrown player signing by Columbus Crew after a trade with New York City FC for his homegrown rights.[4] Sands made his professional debut for the Columbus Crew organization for the team's reserve side, Columbus Crew 2, in a 1–0 win against Philadelphia Union II.[6] He subsequently made his first team debut in a 2–1 loss against USL Championship side Detroit City FC in the U.S. Open Cup.[7]

On July 31, 2024, the Crew traded Sands plus $600,000 in General Allocation Money to the New England Revolution, in exchange for DeJuan Jones.[8]

Personal life

edit

Sands is the twin brother of James Sands, who currently plays for New York City FC, and the United States men's national soccer team.[4]

Honors

edit

Georgetown Hoyas

  • NCAA College Cup: 2019

Columbus Crew

References

edit
  1. ^ "2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup – Club roster: Columbus Crew (USA)" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 30, 2024. p. 6. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ FC, New York City. "James Sands Becomes NYCFC's First Homegrown Player". New York City FC. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Will Sands - Men's Soccer". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c mlssoccer. "Columbus Crew sign defender Will Sands after trade with NYCFC | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "Manhattan SC | uslleaguetwo.com". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  6. ^ mlsnextpro. "PHIvsCLB 04-10-2022 | MLSNEXTPro.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "Detroit City FC vs. Columbus Crew - Football Match Stats - April 19, 2022 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "Revolution acquire defender Will Sands and $600K GAM from Columbus Crew". New England Revolution. July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
edit