Sola Abolaji

Personal information
Full name	Oluwanisola Abolaji
Date of birth	March 27, 1985 (1985-03-27) (age 24)
Place of birth	Carbondale, Illinois, United States
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Defender/Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Thunder Bay Chill
Number	2
Youth career
2003	Barton Cougars
2004	Northern Oklahoma Mavericks
2005–2006	Buffalo Bulls
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps (Gls)†
2006	Colorado Rapids U23's	02 0(0)
2007	Carolina RailHawks	10 0(0)
2007	Vancouver Whitecaps	01 0(0)
2009–	Thunder Bay Chill	07 0(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 June, 2009. † Appearances (Goals).

Oluwanisola "Sola" Abolaji (born March 27, 1985 in Carbondale, Illinois) is an American soccer player of Nigerian heritage who currently plays for Thunder Bay Chill in the USL Premier Development League.

[edit] Career

[edit] College and Amateur

Abolaji attended Eaglecrest High School in Aurora, Colorado^[1], and played college soccer at Barton County Community College in Kansas, where he was named to the NJCAA Region VI All-Region second team in 2003. He transferred to Northern Oklahoma College in 2004, where he was named the team's defensive MVP and helped lead the Mavericks to the NJCAA Region II championship. He then transferred again, to the University of Buffalo, where he spent his junior and senior years. He played 18 games for the Bulls his senior year, scoring two goals and one assist, the helper coming on the game-winning goal in the Bulls' upset win over 19th-ranked Northern Illinois.

While in college, Abolaji also played for Colorado Rapids U23's in the USL Premier Development League.

[edit] Professional

Abolaji was the first overall selection in the 2007 USL-1 Draft by the Carolina RailHawks^[2], making him the first athlete from the University of Buffalo to be drafted first overall in any professional sports draft. Having played just 10 games for the RailHawks, Abolaji was traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for Joel John Bailey on July 29, 2007^[3], but later left the team after a coaching change.

He spent a year in and out of professional soccer in 2008 due to a lagging injury, and joined the reiging PDL champions Thunder Bay Chill in the USL Premier Development League for the 2009 season after failed negotiations with Hertha Berlin of the Bundesliga and Austria's Rapid Wien.

[edit] References

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