MLS EXPERIENCE
2011: Ruiz signed with the Philadelphia Union on 2/22/11. The Guatemalan International made 14 appearances, starting 13, for the Union. With six goals, Ruiz was the second leading scorer for Philadelphia. The forward scored the game-winning goal in the Union’s first-ever home opener against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on 3/26. Ruiz also notched a “Goal of the Week” for his game-winning screamer against the Chicago Fire on 5/21.
2008: Ruiz played for both Toronto FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008. Ruiz was traded to LA from FC Dallas for an undisclosed cash allocation and the Galaxy’s natural second round Superdraft pick. With the Galaxy, Ruiz made 10 appearances, starting three games. The forward scored only one goal for LA and was subsequently traded to Toronto FC on 8/19. Ruiz featured in five games for Toronto, starting three of those games. He was released by Toronto after the club signed current D.C. United teammate Dwayne De Rosario.
2007: Netting seven goals and adding two assists, Ruiz started 19 games for FC Dallas and appeared in 22 matches. Ruiz scored the lone goal for Dallas against the Houston Dynamo in the 4-1 loss in the second leg of the first round of the playoffs. The Dynamo won on 4-2 aggregate. Ruiz was traded back to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 2008 season.
2006: Ruiz started 25 games for FC Dallas, appearing in 27 matches on the year. Ruiz tallied 15 goals, with two coming in the playoffs; he was the leading scorer for Dallas in 2006.
2005: Ruiz appeared in 19 games for Dallas (18 starts) and logged over 1,500 minutes. He netted 11 goals on the season, and added two in the playoffs. In his first season with Dallas, Ruiz was the club’s leading scorer.
2004: Scoring 11 goals on the season, Ruiz played 20 games and started 18. The Guatemalan international also added two assists in over 1,500 minutes of play.
2003: Ruiz featured in 26 Galaxy games, starting all but one of those games in the regular season. With 15 goals in the regular season and two in the playoffs, Ruiz was a joint league-leader in goals on the year. The Guatemalan was also selected as an MLS All-Star and was named the MLS All-Star Game’s MVP.
2002: In his first year in MLS, Ruiz played and started 32 games for the LA Galaxy. Ruiz’s 24 goals was a League-best that year and is the 5th-best single-season mark in MLS history. Logging over 2,000 minutes, the Guatemalan forward helped the Galaxy to its first MLS Cup. Ruiz was named the MLS Cup MVP as well as the MLS MVP.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2011-12: Ruiz transferred from the Philadelphia Union to Mexican side Veracruz, where he made 22 total appearances and tallied 10 goals.
2010: On 7/12, Ruiz joined Greek side Aris FC, and became the first Guatemalan to appear in a UEFA compeition match when Aris FC faced Austrian Wien on 8/18. The forward secured the victory for Aris FC, putting away the game’s only goal. Ruiz scored again in the second round, seeing Aris FC move ahead on aggregate.
2009: Ruiz signed with Paraguyan side Olimpia Asunción on 1/31. The Guatemalan International scored a hat trick for the club against Rubio Nu and finished with 10 goals on the year. Ruiz then signed with Mexican club Puebla FC later that year on 6/30 and tallied nine goals for the side, which was led by current Chivas USA Head Coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola.
1995-2002: Before joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2002, Ruiz mainly featured for perennial Guatemalan power Municipal. From 2000-01, Ruiz left Municipal briefly to do a short stint with Greek side Giannina. In his seven years with Municipal, Ruiz made 143 appearances and scored 69 goals.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Ruiz made his first appearance for Guatemala in 1998 in a friendly against Mexico and scored his first international goal at the 1999 UNCAF Nations Cup against El Salvador. The Guatemalan would represent his country in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Ruiz is Guatemala’s all-time leading goal scorer as of 6/14/08, when he broke Juan Carlos Plata’s previous record. A former captain – retiring from international play after 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying – Ruiz made 104 appearances and tallied 55 goals. Five of those goals came in four matches of the most recent cycle of World Cup qualifying, including the go-ahead goal in a 3-1 loss to the United States on Oct. 16, 2012.
HONORS
MLS MVP: 2002
MLS Cup: 2002
MLS Cup MVP: 2002
MLS All-Star Game MVP: 2003
League-Leader in Goals: 2002, 2003 (tie)
9th (tied) All-Time Leading Scorer in League History (3rd among active players)
All-time Leader in MLS Playoff goals (16)
ACQUIRED
Selected via MLS allocation process on February 20, 2013.