FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Just weeks away from the start of his senior season following a junior campaign in which he was named Nova Southeastern's Most Valuable Player, Inaki Dominguez was already penciled in to start at one of the midfield positions – that was until he received the offer of a lifetime.
 
Dominguez spent a portion of the summer on trial with Mexican football club, Cruz Azul, unsure of what the future held. However, following a successful preseason, the Mexico City native was called upon by the club's sports director before eventually deciding to forego his final season of eligibility at Nova Southeastern by signing his first professional contract with the organization that'd groomed him ever since he was 13 years of age.  
 
"I was really happy," Dominguez said of his initial reaction. "I called my parents immediately to tell them the good news. Being back with Cruz Azul is a dream come true. I've been a fan of Cruz Azul since I was a little kid and it is where I grew up as a player, so it's like being back home. I'm really happy to be back."
 
In his lone season with Nova Southeastern, Dominguez started in all 15 matches, logging a team-high 1,358 minutes. Despite the program's ups-and-downs throughout 2016, he credits the experience and his time as a Shark for helping him reach the next step in his soccer career.
 
"I think being chosen as our team's player of the year might have helped a little bit, letting them (Cruz Azul) know I was performing at a strong level," said Dominguez. "More importantly, coming to Nova Southeastern forced me out of my comfort zone. Learning English, living by myself in another country, and meeting so many people from all over the world helped my self-confidence grow and helped me mature as a person."
 
Nova Southeastern second-year head coach Matt Watts will certainly miss having the reliable playmaker in the middle of the pitch with the Sharks' regular season debut on the horizon, but is quick to side with Dominguez's decision and feels strongly about the future of the program as a whole.
 
"I am really pleased for Inaki to sign his first professional contract with Cruz Azul," Watts stated. "Inaki came to NSU last year and told me his dreams were to go pro and I am so proud of him that he achieved this goal. His hard work really starts now but I know he is prepared, and when he gets his chance with the first team, he will grasp it with both hands. To have someone play at the next level is an inspiration to his other teammates that are trying to achieve the same objective. It's also great for our program and #theprocess to show the strides we are taking and the recruits we are bringing in. It's an exciting time to be a Shark."
 
With the deal in place, Dominguez becomes the first NSU men's soccer player to sign professionally since Aly Hassan did so in 2012.
 
More About Cruz Azul
Cruz Azul is a Mexican football club that plays in the top division in Mexico, Liga MX. Their home stadium is called Estadio Azul, located in the southwestern part of Mexico City in the Colonia Ciudad de los Deportes, and seats 33,000. Cruz Azul has won the league title eight times, the second most successful club in the history of the CONCACAF Champions League. Cruz Azul was also the first CONCACAF team to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South American football.