ORLANDO – As announced by the organization Monday morning, Anderson Rosa has made official the next step in his playing career.
The UCF men’s soccer five-year veteran defender, who was drafted by the Colorado Rapids with the 14th pick of the second round of the MLS SuperDraft 2024, has signed with the team’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate, Colorado Rapids 2.
When he was drafted Dec. 19, 2023, the Salvador, Bahia, Brazil native became the 13th player in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft, as well as the fourth to be chosen in the last four seasons, joining Gino Vivi (2023, LA Galaxy), Yanis Leerman (2022, Chicago Fire) and Nick Taylor (2022, Orlando City).
He became the second Knight to be selected by the Rapids, joining Deshorn Brown in 2012, and he was also the sixth to be selected in head coach Scott Calabrese’s tenure, joining Vivi, Taylor, Leerman, Cal Jennings (2020, FC Dallas) and Jonathan Dean (2020, Orlando City).
Rosa completed his UCF tenure as the Knights’ all-time leader in matches played and consecutive starts, having appeared in each of the Black and Gold’s 76 contests from his collegiate debut against Tulsa Feb. 6, 2021 through his final match against James Madison Nov. 10, 2024.
In addition to aiding the Black and Gold in limiting their opposition to two or fewer goals in 15 of their 16 games in 2024, Rosa recorded his second straight season with at least two goals scored and added a season high six assists, leading to a season high 10 points in his final collegiate campaign.
He notably helped lift UCF to a 2-1 season-opening victory over the then-No. 9 Clemson Tigers Aug. 24, 2023, a win that paved the way for the team to claim the first No. 1 national ranking in a regular-season poll in UCF athletics history.
Rosa completed his time in Orlando having garnered all-conference honors in each of his five seasons with the Knights, including three first team appointments. He earned two United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections as well, and helped UCF claim American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships in the 2020-21 season en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s third round.
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