Ricardo Pepi

TWITTER
@Ricardo_Pepi9

Acquired
FC Dallas signed forward Ricardo Pepi as its 26th Homegrown on June 21, 2019.

Languages Spoken:
English, Spanish

FC Dallas 2020:
Pepi started in four games and came off the bench 13 times in this season recording 458 minutes. Made his first career start on August 29 vs. Minnesota United and recorded an assist in the match. Scored his first MLS goal on March 7 vs. Montreal Impact in stoppage time at home and his second goal was in the 42nd minute on the road vs. Minnesota United on September 9. Pepi also scored his first ever MLS Playoff goal in stoppage time to force overtime vs Portland Timbers and scored his penalty kick to help FC Dallas win the PK shoot out on the road.

2019:
Pepi earned a short-term loan with FC Dallas’ first team for both of FCD’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches. Pepi made his official debut for FC Dallas and recorded his first FC Dallas assist on June 12, 2019 in a 4-0 win over OKC Energy FC. Marked his first shot and shot-on-goal on August 31, 2019 against FC Cincinnati. Made seven appearances off-the-bench for FC Dallas for a total of 71 minutes. Pepi made his MLS debut coming off-the-bench for the final six minutes on June 22 against Toronto FC.

Professional
Pepi became North Texas Soccer Club’s first signing in team history on December 6, 2018. He made his pro debut on March 31, 2019 against the Chattanooga Red Wolves where he scored his first professional hat trick. Pepi went on to appear in 13 matches for North Texas SC and score 11 goals, including two goals in USL League One Semifinal on Oct. 12 vs. Forward Madison to help the North Texas SC reach the final.

National Team
Born to Mexican parents, Pepi has the ability to represent both Mexico and the United States as a youth international. Pepi was called up to represent the U.S. in the 2018 Nike International Friendlies, where he was the youngest member of the U.S. U-17 team and scored the game-winner in a 1-0 result over Turkey on December 1. He was a part of the U.S. U-17 team in the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship, appearing in six matches and scoring three goals (including two goals in the semifinals match against Canada). He also represented the U.S. as a forward in the 2019 U-17 World Cup in Brazil.

Academy
Pepi signed with the FC Dallas Academy in 2016, coming from the club’s youth affiliate in El Paso. During the 2016-17 Academy season, he appeared in 15 games and scored 18 goals for U-13 Academy team and scored 12 goals in 13 appearances for the U-14 Academy. For the 2017-2018 season, Pepi moved up to the U-16s, where he appeared in 14 games and scored five goals. Pepi scored 19 goals in eight games for the U-17 side in 2018.