HOW ACQUIRED: Selected No. 2 overall in 2019 SuperDraft.
Haji is a technical player who is hoping to continue to develop under Matias Almeyda in 2021
OUTSIDE MLS: He made 10 starts in 15 appearances for San Jose’s USL affiliate Reno 1868 FC in 2019.
COLLEGE: As a freshman at New England College, he led the team in goals with nine in 14 games and helped the Pilgrims win their first North Atlantic Conference men's soccer championship … He later joined Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and tallied two goals and eight assists (17 starts) in his first year with the Rams (2017). Haji’s efforts helped his side finish second in the A-10 Conference and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013 … Haji made 18 starts from 18 appearances for the Rams in the 2018 season. He posted five goals and 10 assists to help VCU clinch the A-10 regular season championship.
NOTES: Haji’s parents are refugees from Somalia. After spending time in a refugee camp in Kenya, where Siad was born, they moved to the United States in 2004. Haji’s family settled in Manchester, New Hampshire where he grew up playing soccer and learning English by watching PBS kids.
