Position: Midfielder
Height: 6-0
Born: December 20, 1993
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
College: Florida National University (FL)
Previous Club: Florida Soccer Soldiers (UPSL)
RODRIGO DA COSTA BIO
FC TULSA
2023
Da Costa makes his return to Tulsa in 2023, marking his fifth consecutive season with the club.
2022
2022 marked another strong season for da Costa who concluded the season tied with Darío Suárez for the club lead in goals (9) and finished second in assists with four. Da Costa appeared in all but one match for FC Tulsa with 30 starts.
Traditionally stationed as a 10 on the pitch, da Costa’s flexibility and all-around athleticism was on full display when he was moved out wide to man the wings in the second half of the season due to the club transition from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-3-3 with the ball.
2021
Rodrigo da Costa solidified himself as one of the USL Championship’s bonafide stars in 2021 and cemented himself as one of the best players in FC Tulsa history. The Brazilian lead FC Tulsa in nearly every offensive category including goals (11), assists (6), chances created (43), and started all 33 of FC Tulsa’s matches this season including its Playoff contest, amassing 2,833 minutes. Da Costa’s single-season minute total was good for third in club history behind Cyprian Hedrick’s 2019 total and da Costa’s own 2019 minute total.
Only eight players in the USL Championship scored double-digit goals with at least five assists, and da Costa was one of them. His fantastic 2021 campaign earned da Costa team MVP as he looks to build on last season’s success in 2022.
2020
Last season, da Costa bookended FC Tulsa’s goalscoring table with the first two and last goal of the club’s USL Championship regular season. He also scored the opener for FC Tulsa in the club’s playoff match against El Paso Locomotive FC.
He added two assists to his four goals in 2020 and created 16 chances, the third-most on the team.
2019
Da Costa broke out as a USL Championship superstar in his first professional season, earning the honor of 2019 All-League Second Team after logging nine goals and 13 assists in 33 appearances. His 13 assists were the second-most of any player in the league, while the nine goals ranked in the top 50.
Rodrigo’s 2019 season gave him the fourth-most single-season assists in league history and are most by a Tulsa player while with the club, let along a single season. The 26-year-old was one of just three players in the USL Championship to record at least nine goals and nine assists in 2019.
CLUB RANKS
Da Costa is one of the best offensive players in Tulsa history. His 25 assists for the club are 15 more than any other player and his 33 goals are the most in franchise history.
Da Costa ranks first all-time in club starts (110), appearances (115), and first in minutes (9,492).
His selection to the 2019 USL Championship’s All-League Second Team made him just the second player in franchise history to receive a postseason award.
2018 – FLORIDA SOCCER SOLDIERS (UPSL)
Before he joined FC Tulsa, Rodrigo played for the amateur Florida Soccer Soldiers in the UPSL for a season in 2018, in which the club won the UPSL Florida Conference title.
COLLEGE
Rodrigo left Brazil to attend college at Florida Memorial University, where he endured a freshman season that saw him injured frequently. He transferred schools the next year, following his coach to Florida National University, where he was an USCAA All-American First Team honoree and scored 16 goals and added a USCAA-high 11 assists in his senior season with the Conquistadors in 2018. The team won back-to-back National Championships in 2017 and 2018.
