Former Matador Danny Trejo Finishes as Runner-Up for USL Championship MVP
11/15/2023 2:03:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - Former CSUN men's soccer standout Danny Trejo completed an impressive 2023 soccer season with not only a USL Championship title but a runner-up finish in USL Championship Most Valuable Player voting.
As his club, Phoenix Rising FC claimed the 2023 USL Championship Final against the Charleston Battery at Patriots Point in Charleston, S.C., Trejo finished second to Riverhouds SC's Albert Dikwa in Championship MVP voting.
Dikwa received 57 percent of the ballot to earn the award. Trejo finished second on 11 percent, while Sacramento Republic FC's Russell Cicerone and the Tampa Bay Rowdies' Cal Jennings finished tied for third on seven percent. Twelve players overall received at least one vote.
Trejo joined USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC on January 26, 2023. On August 15, he was named USL Championship Player of the Week for Week 23 of the season after notching two goals and a pair of assists during a 5-0 victory over El Paso Locomotive FC.
In the 17 games in which Trejo has found the net for Rising FC this season, the club has gone 12-2-3. In the games where he's been held off the scoresheet, the side is 2-8-8.
Trejo was selected by LAFC in the first round (14th overall) of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. In June, 2022, The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) announced that the Club has signed Trejo to a short-term loan agreement from Club affiliate Las Vegas Lights of the USL.
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Trejo was selected as CSUN's 2019 Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A 2019 Academic All-Conference selection, Trejo was 1-of-40 players selected to play in the inaugural Adidas MLS College Showcase upon the conclusion of the 2019 season. Trejo was selected 2019 second-team United Soccer Coaches Far West Region. This was the second consecutive season in which Trejo was named second-team All-Region.
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Despite forgoing his final season of eligibility, Trejo recorded 26 goals and 67 points in his CSUN career which began with a selection to the 2017 Big West All-Freshman Team. He was also chosen first-team All-Conference for the second consecutive season in 2019.
Trejo's selection was the first of a CSUN player in the MLS SuperDraft since 2016 when Trevor Morley was selected in the fourth round (81st overall) by the Portland Timbers. Trejo was the second Matador to be taken in the first round. Sean Franklin was the fourth overall pick in the 2008 SuperDraft by the LA Galaxy.
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