Machael David

What Scouts Say: "Very good soccer player ... Talented. No doubt he can play ... Quick with the ball. He can pass and dribble. Reads the game very well, tenacious on the tackle and pretty simple in his play ... UCSB used him in two roles: as a holding midfielder and attacking midfielder ... He's got qualities that he can do either one ... He can sit in and read things and disrupt things and connect passes, but he has enough qualities that he can get forward and can be goal dangerous and can slip guys in and use combination play ... Very tidy and can switch the point of attack and change the attacking angle when operating deep in midfield ... He's got good speed and quickness ... Smaller guy, but very quick, very good feet and very clean ... One of those guys who doesn't always show up to play. So he has enough soccer to play in MLS, but does he have the mentality? Is he tough enough to be a pro? ... Also is durable enough? He played injured in the latter part of his college career, but was fantastic in his first two years ... Might be best playing side-by-side with another central midfielder ...  He's a tweener between a No. 6 or No. 8 in a three-man midfield ... Juninho-like (LA Galaxy) in that he's someone who just sits in there and plays simple ... However, he is a little more mobile and you can use him in different spots."

UC SANTA BARBARA

2012: During his senior campaign, he played in 11 games, starting nine as a defensive midfielder. During his career at UCSB, he played in 66 games, scored three goals and tallied 10 assists.

2011: Played in 10 games during the year…Scored the game-winning goal and tallied an assist during a 2-0 victory over Sacramento State (Sept. 25)…Assisted goals against UCLA (Sept. 16) and UC Riverside (Sept. 28)…Had five total points on the season…Was hampered by injuries throughout much of the season…Honored for his strong academic performances with All-Big West Academic honors and his third-straight Golden Eagle Award.

2010: Played in and started 21 games for the Gauchos and earned First Team All-Big West … Led the team with 1,986 minutes on the pitch, which ranks eighth in the UCSB record books for minutes logged during a season…Was named to the Lobo Classic All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Gauchos to shutouts over Harvard (Sept. 17) and Buffalo (Sept. 19) at the tournament…Helped UCSB limit its opposition to 17 goals – 0.77 per game, which ranked second in the Big West…UCSB’s 0.73 goals against average was second in Big West as was its 10 shutouts…The Gauchos limited their opposition to 8.5 shots per game…Assisted Luis Silva’s game-winning goal against Cal Poly (Oct. 12) and also recorded an assist against UC Riverside (Oct. 17). 

2009: Played in all 24 games for UCSB, starting 23 and earned Big West Freshman of the Year ... Scored one goal and dished out four assists in his first season on the active roster...Assisted David Walker's game-tying goal in the 87th minute against Pitt (Sept. 6), helping send the game into overtime (the Gauchos won 4-3)...Scored his first career goal in front of the Fox Soccer Channel cameras when he notched the Gauchos' second goal in a 3-0 victory over Indiana (Oct. 2)...Assisted Luis Silva's game-winner in a Big West victory over Cal State Northridge (Oct. 28)...Also helped the Gaucho defense limit its opposition to 18 goals in 24 contests...Received a bevy of awards at the season's end, earning Big West Freshman of the Year, Second Team All-Big West, Soccer America All-Freshman Second Team, Goal.com Freshman Team and TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Rookie First Team...Not just a standout on the field, he earned Big West All-Academic Team honors and was the men's soccer Golden Eagle Award winner.

2008: Redshirted his first season at UCSB.

CLUB
Played with Washington Premier's U-19 squad for the 2006-07 season ... Played in the Premier Development League in 2007-08 ... Also saw time with Tacoma FC ... In his lone year with Tacoma FC, helped the team win the PDL conference title ... Finished with three goals and seven assists in seven games before injuring his right hamstring ... Named MVP of the game in his final contest with Tacoma ... Scored the PDL Goal of the Week in the season's second week.

HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Gig Harbor HS in Washington from 2006-08 after transferring from Tacoma's Lincoln HS ... Played midfield and forward ... At Gig Harbor, he scored six goals in his first three games ... While a freshman at Lincoln, he was named the state's MVP and was the leading scorer, netting 13 goals ... Was also named a captain and Rookie of the Year.

PERSONAL
Born in Kwale, Nigeria ... Grew up in Milan, Italy ... Goes by the nicknames of "Oba" and "Armani" ... When through with soccer, he plans on becoming an immigration lawyer ... When not playing soccer he is reading his Bible, which he lists as his favorite book and also something he cannot do without ... Before every game he sings African music to remind himself and motivate himself that he is playing for his home country of Nigeria ... Wants people to know he's religious, goofy, funny, caring and optimistic ... Lists Ronaldinho as his favorite athlete ... Roots for AC Milan and his favorite soccer stadium is Milan's San Siro ... Favorite movies are "The Notebook" and "Troy" ... Favorite TV show is "Entourage" ... Loves to read the celebrity magazines ... Favorite author is Jon Krakauer ... Son of Goodluck and Mariam David.

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