Rawlston "Rawley" Masaniai (born May 13, 1983) is an American Samoan

American Samoan

American Samoan may refer to:* Something of, or related to American Samoa* A person from American Samoa, or of American Samoan descent. For information about the American Samoan people, see Demographics of American Samoa, Samoans, and Culture of Samoa. For specific American Samoans, see List of...

 soccer player who plays as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

. He was one of the first players from American Samoa to play at international level.

Club career

Masaniai grew up in Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....

, and attended Mater Dei High School

Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)

Mater Dei High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational secondary school in Santa Ana, California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. With an enrollment of 2,100 students Mater Dei High School is one of the largest Catholic high schools in the United States...

, before playing college soccer for San Jose State University

San José State University

San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...

. He also played club soccer for the San Francisco Glens

San Francisco Glens

San Francisco Glens is an American soccer team founded in 1961. The team is a member of the National Premier Soccer League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and will make their debut in the Northwest Division in 2008, playing a short season of "exhibition games" prior to a planned...

 before joining the San Francisco Seals in the USL Premier Development League

USL Premier Development League

The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...

 in 2006. In three seasons with the club, he made 37 league appearances and scored three goals. Masaniai had a trial with the San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....

 in June 2009, but did not join the team. In July 2009, he joined German 3rd Liga

3rd Liga

The 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...

 side VfL Osnabrück

VfL Osnabrück

VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis, but is by far best known for its football section.- Foundation to WW2 :...

 to play for their reserves squad. He made thirteen appearances in the 2009–10 Niedersachsenliga. Masaniai was released by Osnabrück when his contract expired in June 2011.

International career

Masaniai is a full international player for the American Samoa national football team, and competed for them in the 2007 South Pacific Games.

In 2011, Masaniai was a member of the American Samoan team which won its first ever competitive fixture, a 2-1 victory over in qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

2014 FIFA World Cup

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....

.

External links

• Rawlston Masaniai at National Football Teams
• Rawlston Masania at ZeroZeroFootball