User:Cheesehead97/Eric Leonard

Eric Leonard (born October 5, 1995) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Forward Madison FC in USL League One.

Youth and college
Leonard grew up in Palatine, Illinois and played college soccer at Butler University from 2014 to 2017, starting in 69 out of 73 matches played and captaining his junior and senior season. In 2016, Leonard had the game-winning goal in Butler's first Big East Championship victory over Creighton and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. In 2017, he earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of October 23 for his role in shutouts against Villanova and No. 1 Indiana, while being selected to the adidas/IU Credit Forum Classic All-Tournament Team for his role in a pair of 3-2 wins over South Florida and San Francisco. He continued to lead the team to its first ever Big East Men's Conference Championship and Butler's first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Nerang SC
Leonard made his professional debut on April 8th, 2018 under the form of a one-year contract with Nerang SC in the Gold Coast Premier League, the second division of Australian soccer. At Nerang SC, Leonard won the Premier League Players’ Player of the Year award.

Forward Madison FC
On December 12, 2018, USL League One team Forward Madison FC signed Eric Leonard for its inaugural season. Leonard was signed alongside another Illinois native, Brian Bement.