Fort Lauderdale United FC proudly announced the signing of Darya Rajaee to its roster for its debut season in the USL Super League starting in August.
Rajaee is a local to Florida and spent her collegiate career in her home state as a midfielder for the UCF Knights. Rajaee served as the heart of her team, both shielding defensively and innovating plays offensively. As a sophomore in 2019, she scored her first collegiate goal in UCF’s 5-0 win over Houston in the esteemed American Athletic Conference Championship tournament. As her career progressed, Rajaee solidified herself into the core of her team, making 19 appearances, including nine starts.
In her senior year, Rajaee started in all 16 matches and recorded 1,360 minutes in the midfield for the Knights. Her relentless energy and work ethic awarded her the American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Rajaee’s ability to pivot effortlessly between defense and offense made her a prolific playmaker, scoring one goal against Memphis and assisting two goals against Stetson.
Consistently demonstrating her skill, Rajaee was named to the American Athletic First-Team All-Conference for the second consecutive season and landed on the Preseason All-Conference Team and Top Drawer Soccer’s Top 100 players list in 2022. Rajaee played and started in all 18 matches, leading outfield players with a career-high of 1,592 minutes. Her final season truly showcased her intelligence on the field as Rajaee was able to make strategic plays that resulted in goals, assists and shots at the net.
Rajaee’s collegiate career culminated with the Knights, surpassing 5,000 minutes played over five seasons (5,103). Now, ready to tackle the field professionally, Rajaee brings her rich experience and international exposure, having flourished her talents with FFC Turbine Potsdam in the Bundesliga and SF Damaiense in Portugal for the Liga BPI. Fort Lauderdale United FC eagerly anticipates Rajaee’s extensive and diverse experience from the global field, which makes her a versatile player for its team this fall.
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