Connolly, Gonzalez to play professionally overseas

Connolly, Gonzalez to play professionally overseas

Two Sacramento Gold FC players — goalkeeper John Connolly and midfielder Nico Gonzalez — have recently signed contracts to play professionally overseas.

Connolly will suit up for Australia’s Northern Rangers FC, who play in the NPL Tasmania, one of several second-division leagues in the country. This follows three successful seasons with Sacramento Gold FC, which saw Connolly emerge as one of the best goalkeepers in the NPSL’s West Region. During his stint in Sacramento, Connolly helped the Gold win the 2014 NPSL West Region title, earned both Player of the Week and All-NPSL honors in 2015, and came up with several crucial saves in the Gold’s first-ever U.S. Open Cup win last season. He also managed to earn the captain’s armband in the process. In addition, Connolly has played for the Brooklyn Italians and LIU Blackbirds.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, has joined Dalum IF of Denmark’s 2nd Division. Gonzalez, a four-year member of the UCLA Bruins squad, has also enjoyed a stretch of success with the Gold over the past few seasons, playing a critical role in the Gold’s run to the NPSL national semifinals in 2014, as well as the club’s U.S. Open Cup triumph over the Burlingame Dragons last season. Gonzalez also made history in 2015, scoring three goals in only eight minutes of game time (the quickest recorded hat trick in NPSL history) in a 3-1 win over CD Aguiluchos USA. Gonzalez is a local soccer product, having starred at Tokay High School before heading to UCLA.

Both Connolly and Gonzalez have also joined the list of Gold players to have gone on to play professional soccer. This includes Miguel Aguilar (DC United/LA Galaxy), Dominik Jakubek (Sacramento Republic FC), and Max Alvarez (Sacramento Republic FC/San Francisco Deltas).