Oluwanisola "Sola" Abolaji (born March 27, 1985 in Carbondale, Illinois

Carbondale, Illinois

Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...

) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soccer player of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n heritage who currently plays for Lillehammer Fk in the 2 Division Norway.

College and Amateur

Abolaji attended Eaglecrest High School

Eaglecrest High School

Eaglecrest High School is located in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado, near the cities of Aurora and Centennial. The school mascot is the Raptors, and school colors are red, black and silver. Eaglecrest was the fourth high school to open in the Cherry Creek School District, and it is a...

 in Aurora, Colorado

Aurora, Colorado

City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...

, and played college soccer

College soccer

College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

 at Barton County Community College

Barton County Community College

Barton Community College is a two-year junior college located in Great Bend, Kansas. Its service area includes Barton, Ellsworth, Pawnee, Rush and Russell Counties,Stafford County north of US Highway 50, and northwestern Rice County.Athletics:The school is more commonly known for it nationally...

 in Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, where he was named to the NJCAA Region VI All-Region second team in 2003. He transferred to Northern Oklahoma College

Northern Oklahoma College

Northern Oklahoma College is a community college located in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, with additional campuses located in Enid, Oklahoma and Stillwater, Oklahoma. Student enrollment is approximately 2,700.-History:...

 in 2004, where he was named the team's defensive MVP and helped lead the Mavericks to the NJCAA Region II championship. He then transferred again, to the University at Buffalo, where he spent his junior and senior years. He played 18 games for the Bulls

Buffalo Bulls

The Buffalo Bulls are the athletic teams representing the University at Buffalo in intercollegiate athletics. The Bulls currently play in Division I , and are a member of the Mid-American Conference for all sports except women's rowing who is in the Cononial Athletic Assocition . They have been a...

 his senior year, scoring two goals and one assist, the helper coming on the game-winning goal in the Bulls' upset win over 19th-ranked Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois.-Economics:Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Rockford, and the Quad Cities, which contain a majority of Illinois' population and economic activity, including...

.

While in college, Abolaji also played for Colorado Rapids U23's 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...

.

Professional

Abolaji was the first overall selection in the 2007 USL-1 Draft by the Carolina RailHawks, making him the first athlete from the University of Buffalo to be drafted first overall in any professional sports draft. Having played just 10 games for the RailHawks, Abolaji was traded to the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for Joel John Bailey

Joel John Bailey

Joel John Bailey is a forward who last played for the Carolina RailHawks of the USL First Division. He played three seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League.-Indoor:...

 on July 29, 2007, but later left the team after a coaching change.

He spent a year in and out of professional soccer in 2008 due to a lagging injury, and joined the reiging PDL champions Thunder Bay Chill

Thunder Bay Chill

Thunder Bay Chill is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids, in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference.The team plays its home games...

 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...

 for the 2009 season after failed negotiations with Hertha Berlin of the Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga

The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 and Austria's Rapid Wien.