Rivas dominated the field over the three years that he was at WashU.

Former Washington University men’s soccer player Sergio Rivas is up and running in the Major League Soccer NextPro league after signing a professional contract with St. Louis City FC in mid-February. A native of Minnesota and a member of the WashU Class of 2023, Rivas joins a legendary list of former Bears who got to play their respective sports professionally, such as Dal Maxvill and Don Lenhardt.

“I was delighted for Sergio,” said men’s soccer coach Joe Clarke. “Yes, disappointing for our team. He’s a big player to lose, but I think everybody is really excited [for him]. Everybody wants to see how far [they can advance], how high a level they’re capable of playing at, and how much their game will advance as they get into more and more difficult practice environments. So I’m really happy.”

St. Louis City FC is a new MLS franchise that is scheduled to start competing in the league in 2023. As part of his contract, Rivas joined the St. Louis City SC 2 roster in the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro league, a developmental MLS league that aims to produce the best footballing talents in North America.

Rivas’s contract comes after an impressive junior season with the Bears, where he helped the program clinch its first outright UAA title in 22 years. After missing his sophomore season to COVID-19, Rivas left everything on the pitch for the Bears in a season that also saw them register their first NCAA Playoffs win since 2015. 

The post-season awards also recognized his accomplishments: he was a First Team United Soccer Coaches All-American and a D3soccer.com All-America honoree. He also led the Bears to its best season in over a decade, with a 13-3-1 record, and he ranked second in the conference in total points (21) with 8 goals and 5 assists.

Rivas was ecstatic about being offered a professional contract. Still, it wasn’t an easy choice to skip his last year at WashU; Rivas remembered it being the hardest part of the process. Embracing the WashU scholar-champion culture, he wanted to prioritize his academics just as much as his professional career. “I would say the hardest part about the decision was figuring out with Joe [Clarke] and my parents about how to balance school and soccer,” said Rivas. “I definitely didn’t want to just give up on college. I had a lot of conversations with [Clarke] and my parents, [and] I found a solution where I could do both soccer and school and it’s worked out so far.” 

“[The contract] was very well deserved,” said junior forward John Daniels, Rivas’s former teammate. “He’s such a humble, hardworking guy, [and] coming out of high school, he wasn’t a five-star recruit. [What he did] just goes to show that if you have the right mentality…things happen.”

Rivas has made a significant impact during his brief tenure with St. Louis City FC. Since signing his contract, he has made 16 appearances for his new team, five of them as a starter. In those 16 appearances, he has registered two goals, tied for the 6th most on the team, and had one assist. In only their first MLS NEXT Pro league, the team sits second place behind Tacoma Defiance, the Seattle Sounders reserve team, with only one point separating the two. 

Playing with the likes of Roman Burki, a former goalkeeper for the famous German club Borussia Dortmund, Rivas has managed to continue playing the game he loves so much at a professional level. But as exciting as the new experience has been, Rivas notes that playing for a college team was extremely different from playing for a professional soccer team. 

“It’s been a lot different. We’re traveling, like four-plus-hour flights. We’re traveling five weekends in a row right now. So it’s definitely a lot more than what I was used to last year,” he said. “You have to be smart about how you make use of your time when you’re traveling on the plane. It is more of a time commitment.” 

It’s not only the time commitment that is different from college, as Rivas also noted that the tempo of the game is also very distinct. “Everyone you know is gonna close you down. So just the overall higher standard of play [means that] you really need to always perform at your highest level,” he said. “The game just moves so fast. You’ll only get like half a second to make a decision. You need to react to every play. If you lose a ball, you press right away.”

Flourishing in one of the toughest environments a soccer player can compete in, Rivas has a lot to be grateful for, and the WashU men’s soccer organization is at the top of that list. Joining the team in the summer of 2019 as a freshman, Rivas put the team first, with no sight of a professional career.

Reflecting on his two seasons with the Bears, Rivas shared deep gratitude with everyone on the WashU team organization for helping him get to this stage. From Coach Clarke, who was a crucial part of finding balance in his life. To his teammates, with whom he was able to share the pitch with for two years.

Some things are just bigger than ourselves, and Rivas’s professional career with St. Louis City FC is an event that goes beyond just himself and his accomplishments. For him to have signed a professional contract speaks volumes about the work being done by Clarke and his staff team. 

According to Clarke, Rivas’s contract has been an asset in his staff recruitment process.“So many times, prospects that we’re talking with, in the back of their mind, are always hopeful that the chance might happen for them to go pro. In previous years, most of the time, that would cost us a player because they didn’t want to give up that dream, and I wouldn’t blame them for that,” said Clarke. “But now, I think prospects will look at our place and say, ‘You know what, it’s possible. I could get a great education, and there’s an outside chance I could get a chance to play professionally.’”

Rivas is at a place where many can only dream of: playing soccer as a professional athlete. But according to him, he is not done yet. With St. Louis City set to start competing in the MLS in 2023, Rivas wants an MLS contract next. 

“Right now we don’t have an MLS team. I think really all of us on the team want to make that first team, to get an MLS contract,” he said. “I just really want to be on a team that has a positive fun culture and plays at the highest level possible.”

Described as a super humble and down-to-earth guy, the WashU men’s soccer team has lost a  competitive contributor in Rivas as they get ready to defend their UAA conference title

“Sergio is a special player and I don’t think right now one player can replace [him]. He just plays with such precision that he is that type of talent,” said Daniels. “But it’s going to be guys stepping up. It’s going to be people like me taking that extra step up this year.” 

“[I’m] very confident with our freshman class coming in. Sophomores, juniors, making that step up again,” he continued. “Everybody’s gonna have to work a little bit harder, focus on their game a little bit more, and we’re excited. We still have phenomenal pieces on our team, difference makers, guys who can score goals. So it’s a loss [to not have Rivas], but we’re still excited for the season.”