Dom Dwyer was born in England, but moved to the United States for college in 2009. He attended Tyler Junior College, where he scored 52 goals in 42 matches, then played one year at USF. He was selected No. 16 overall by Sporting Kansas City in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. He won MLS Cup 2013 with the team, as well as the 2012 US Open Cup. Dwyer barely played in his first two seasons, scoring two goals and assisting two. In 2014, that would all change, drastically.
After recording less than 700 minutes prior to 2014, SKC decided to give their young striker a chance. Early in the season, he slotted home a penalty against San Jose to open his account, finishing it with a flip. His first open play goal of the season came in the following match against Colorado, when he roofed a left footed shot during a seven minute cameo. Two games later, he scored his first brace of many. He slid the first home, then headed the fourth team goal into the net. Just three matches later, they faced the Impact again, and he scored a brace again. Dwyer belted one into the top right against Philadelphia. A diving header in the next game added another to his tally. In his fourth consecutive game scoring, he put two away in a draw with Toronto. He hit double digit goals before June.
In July, Dwyer just kept on scoring. He got one on the breakaway against Chicago, celebrating with a selfie in front of the crowd. For the third time of the season, he scored a brace against Montreal. He scored six times against the same team in one season, a feat that not many players could have ever done. He scored off the long throw-in, then won the game in the 89th minute. Dwyer scored a pair of penalty kicks in a win over Toronto FC. He struck against the Dynamo with a deflection. He grabbed another with a power volley at Red Bull Arena. He headed home an equalizer against the Revolution inches from goal. An October header against Chicago was his second to last on the year. Dom scored for the 22nd time of the year against Philly. Dwyer scored in the postseason match against the Red Bulls, but it did not last and Sporting went home. Despite scoring a whopping 22 goals, second in the Golden Boot race, Dwyer was not given any MLS awards.
In 2015, he did not hit the same goal scoring levels of 22, but it was another solid scoring season. He opened his account with a header versus Philadelphia. A bad giveaway in Houston handed him another. A first-time finish caught DC United off guard at RFK Stadium. In the Round of 16 of the US Open Cup, Dwyer went nuclear on FC Dallas. Five minutes in, he nodded the opener into the goal. He doubled it in nearly identical fashion. He went on to spank a penalty in, scoring his fourth goal of the game with an inch perfect free kick. Dwyer's finish defeated the Dynamo to advance SKC into the Semis of the tournament. Ultimately, SKC won the 2015 US Open Cup over Philadelphia. On Decision Day, Dwyer scored his 12th goal of the season. Portland sent Kansas City packing in round one.
In 2016, Dwyer raised his goal scoring back up to 16. He was becoming one of the most consistent forwards in the league. In the second game of the year, Dwyer hit a screamer of incredible proportions from way out. He scored his second goal of the game at the back post. Dwyer used his body to spin inside and score against the Red Bulls. He snapped a header into the net in the following game with Colorado. A well worked combination ended in a headed goal for No. 14. He sent the crowd into a frenzy with a goal against RSL. To no one's surprise, a matchup with Montreal ended up joining the list of games in which Dwyer scored a brace. His header shushed the crowd, then picked out the far post to lower the volume again. He did another double against FC Dallas, going up high with the initial strike, a low volley making up the second. In September, he scored a goal in four consecutive matches. He took the lead for SKC on a warm day, but it ended as a 2-2 draw with LA. A power header opened things up early in San Jose. His 16-goal campaign ended in the first round of the playoffs, a loss to Seattle.
Dwyer dipped below the double-digit goal mark for the first time since 2014, in 2017. With that said, he was just one away. He notched 9 goals and 5 assists for SKC in the least amount of minutes he played in a season since 2013. Dom scored his first of the year against Colorado on the first-time. He used his weak foot to lace one across the grass and in versus RSL. He pushed home a strange rebound, before going bar-down for another. In 2017, he officially joined the United States National Team. In his first match, a friendly against Ghana in Connecticut, he volleyed in his first international goal. In the Gold Cup, he scored another American goal from a Kelyn Rowe cross. After the Gold Cup, his life saw another big change. Orlando City acquired him in exchange for up to $1.6m in allocation money, which set the MLS record for the most expensive intra-MLS transfer. He was named a 2017 MLS All-Star, scoring a goal against Real Madrid. He scored a brace for Orlando against Atlanta. He ruined a Union clean sheet on Decision Day, ending the season.
In 2018, Dom Dwyer's first full season with Orlando City, he returned back to double-digit scoring. It was the fourth season in the previous five in which he scored at least 12 times. In his opener, he scored twice against RBNY. Dwyer had arrived in Florida. With 11 minutes to go, Orlando was down 2-0 to Portland. Just eight minutes later, Dwyer's dribbling show and goal gave the Lions a 3-2 victory. He scored against the Union in the next match. His goal against San Jose in the next fixture marked the fourth straight game with a score to kick off the season. In a match that Zlatan Ibrahimovic stole the show in, Dwyer scored a beauty of a header. He pulled one back against New England, inviting the "He scores when he wants" chants from the Orlando faithful. He scored a chip against DC United at Audi Field. He scored one last goal on the year against Seattle.
In 2019, Dwyer scored 7 goals for Orlando City. It was the last season he played as a true impact player in MLS. An impressive chip against Chicago opened his account on the year. Even on a new team, he found a way to score against Montreal, sliding it into the back of the net. Then, he scored a header against DC United. A flick header helped defeat FC Cincinnati 5-1. He scored a nearly identical goal against the Revolution. His last goal in purple came through the air. He left Orlando after 2020, playing just 124 minutes and assisting one goal due to a knee injury. He did not join a new team til signing for Toronto FC mid-season. His lone contribution for Toronto was an assist in 493 minutes of play.
In 2022, Atlanta United signed Dom Dwyer. In his very first game for the club, he faced off with the club he had scored so many goals for in Kansas City. He subbed in for an injured Luiz Araujo, cutting inside and smashing in a debut goal before halftime, using the praying hands to show respect to his former club. He then equalized late in a match in Nashville. Dwyer added a bicycle kick consolation goal to his resume in a home loss to Columbus. His most recent MLS goal was in July of 2022 at Yankee Stadium. Atlanta waived Dwyer in 2023. Ever since, he has been without a club. At just age 33, it feels like Dwyer has some goal scoring juice left on someone's bench. He reportedly trialed back with SKC, but nothing materialized. Time will tell if Dwyer's career is over, or if he will make more strides in professional soccer. It seems that he is continuing to train as if he wants another shot. Regardless, his domination at Sporting Kansas City earns him the #22 spot.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2022 | ATL | 605 | 4 | 0 |
2021 | TFC | 493 | 0 | 1 |
2020 | ORL | 124 | 0 | 1 |
2019 | ORL | 1,614 | 7 | 4 |
2018 | ORL | 2,244 | 13 | 0 |
2017 | ORL/SKC | 2,246 | 9 | 5 |
2016 | SKC | 2,823 | 16 | 3 |
2015 | SKC | 2,546 | 12 | 2 |
2014 | SKC | 2,724 | 22 | 1 |
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