Michael Salazar


Michael Salazar is a Belizean footballer who currently plays for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer
He first represented the Belize national team in 2013 and was drafted by Montreal Impact in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.

Career

College and Amateur

Salazar began his collegiate career at California Baptist University. In his freshman year in 2011, Salazar made a total of 20 appearances, starting seven of them, and finished tied for the team lead with 11 goals and was the team leader with 28 points. His strong performances saw him named the Pacific West Conference freshman of the year and named to the All-PacWest second team. He also led the Lancers to a Pacific West Conference championship and helped the Lancers finish with the most wins in program history. To top if off, Salazar helped Cal Baptist win the National Christian College Athletic Association national championship, with Salazar scoring twice in the final. In his sophomore year, Salazar made 19 appearances and finished with six goals and led the team with six assists. He was once again named to the All PacWest Second Team. The Lancers their second straight national NCCAA title with Salazar picking up 2 assists in the final. After two seasons at California Baptist, Salazar transferred to UC Riverside on June 10, 2013.
In Salazar's first match with the Highlanders, he scored 3 goals and picked up 1 assist. He would lead the team with 6 goals and was named to the All Big-West First Team. In 2015, Salazar scored 6 goals, this time good enough for the second most on the team, and was once again named to the All Big-West First Team.
Salazar also played with amateur club OC Pateadores Blues in 2014 and PSA Elite in 2014 and 2015. Salazar scored 3 goals in 4 appearances for PSA Elite during the 2015 US Open Cup, earning him the 2015 Lower Division Player of Tournament award.

Montreal Impact

Salazar was selected in the second round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by Montreal Impact. He attracted favorable attention when he scored a goal for the Impact during a pre-season friendly match against D.C. United. He signed his first MLS contract on March 1, 2016. Salazar started the season by making 2 starts with Montreal's USL affiliate FC Montreal. Salazar made his MLS and Impact debut May 7, 2016 when he came on as a substitute in a 4–4 draw with the Columbus Crew On June 1, he scored his first professional goal in a 4–2 loss to Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-finals. Salazar made his first MLS start on July 2 and scored his first and second career MLS goals to help give the Impact a 3–2 win over the New England Revolution.
On May 2, 2017 Salazar was loaned to the Impact's USL affiliate Ottawa Fury FC after only making 2 substitute appearances in the Impact's first 9 matches. He made his Fury debut on May 6 in a 0–0 draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies and scored his first goal for the Fury on May 20 in a 4–3 win over New York Red Bulls II. Salazar's strong performance's with the Fury saw him return to the impact after 4 appearances with Ottawa. He picked up his first goal of the season for the Impact on July 5 in a 1–3 loss to the Houston Dynamo. Salazar would also manage to put the ball in the net in Montreal's next two games, scoring and picking up an assist against the Philadelphia Union on July 19 in a 2-1 win and scoring in a 1-2 loss to FC Dallas on July 22.
On February 28, 2018 Salazar was loaned to Ottawa for a second spell. In the Fury's first game of the 2018 season, Salazar picked up an assist in a 1–4 defeat to the Charlotte Independence. After making 4 appearances for Ottawa, Salazar suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season.
Salazar was released by Montreal at the end of their 2018 season.
In early 2019, Salazar went on trial with USL Championship club Birmingham Legion FC and scored a goal for them in a 3-1 victory in a friendly against the Chattanooga Red Wolves on February 13, 2019 However, he was not offered a contract with the Legion.

Rio Grande Valley FC

On March 14, 2019, Rio Grande Valley FC announced that Salazar has signed with the club for the 2019 USL Championship season. He made his Toros debut on March 16, coming on as a sub in a 2–0 loss to Fresno FC. He scored his first goal for RGVFC on April 13 in a 2–1 win over Oklahoma City Energy FC. On April 24, Salazar came on as a sub and scored 3 goals to help give the Toros a 4–4 draw with LA Galaxy II. He was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week in honor of his performance against LA Galaxy II. Salazar scored again against LA Galaxy II on May 18 to help RGVFC secure a 2–2 draw. In the Toros next match, Salazar would score a brace against San Antonio FC to help give RGVFC a 3–1 win. He was named to his second USL Championship Team of the Week as a result. Salazar scored against Real Monarchs on June 8 in a Toros 3–5 loss. His 8 goals set a RGVFC single season record for league goals

Houston Dynamo

On June 10, 2019, Salazar signed with RGVFC's parent MLS club the Houston Dynamo. He made his Dynamo debut on June 11, coming on as a substitute in a 3-2 win over Austin Bold in the US Open Cup. Salazar made his first league appearance for the Dynamo on June 22, coming on as a sub in a 0-4 loss to the Portland Timbers. On June 29, he made his first start for Houston in a 1-2 defeat to the New England Revolution. After failing to score in 10 appearances with the Dynamo, Salazar was sent back to RGVFC on loan, where he would score 2 in 12.

International

On June 11, 2013, Salazar made his international debut for Belize in a 0–0 draw against Guatemala. Two weeks later, he was named to their 23-man roster for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Salazar would appear in all 3 of Belize's games at the 2013 Gold Cup and all 5 of their games at the 2017 Copa Centroamericana. Salazar scored his first goal for Belize in a 4-2 win over Grenada in a friendly on March 22, 2018. He scored his second international goal on November 17, 2019 in a 3-2 loss to Grenada in a CONCACAF Nationa League match.

Personal life

Salazar was born in New York City, New York, but moved along with his parents to their native Belize shortly after birth. He grew up in Cayo, Belize. After living in Belize for 18 years, Salazar and his family moved to Moreno Valley, California where he attended Canyon Springs High School for his senior year.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 March 2018Isidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan, Belize1–14–2Friendly
2.17 November 2019Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George's, Grenada2–12–32019–20 CONCACAF Nations League C