BIOGRAPHY
Ricardo Pepi was born January 9, 2003, in El Paso, Texas. He is a forward in Major League Soccer.
In his first game in North Texas SC’s history, Pepi scored a hat-trick to lead the team to a 3–2 win over the Chattanooga Red Wolves. Since Pepi's hat-trick against Chattanooga, he continued his scoring streak. He was one of the top scorers in the league, scoring 7 goals in 6 appearances.
One June 11, 2019, Pepi was called up to FC Dallas on a short-term loan deal ahead of Dallas' U.S. Open Cup match against USL Championship club OKC Energy FC. He debuted for Dallas playing the full 90 minutes against the Energy, but without scoring. On June 21, 2019, Pepi signed a homegrown contract with FC Dallas, becoming the 26th homegrown signing for the club.
On April 17, Pepi made his first appearance of the 2021 season against the Colorado Rapids, coming on as an 81st minute substitute in the 0–0 draw. In the next match on April 24, Pepi scored his first goal of the season, a consolation for FC Dallas in a 3–1 away defeat against the San Jose Earthquakes. From that match on, Pepi would continue to feature as a regular starter for Luchi Gonzalez and on June 19, Pepi scored his second goal of the season against Minnesota United. His goal was an equalizer in a 1–1 draw. He then scored both goals for FC Dallas in a 2–1 victory against the New England Revolution on June 27.
On July 24, Pepi scored his first professional hat-trick in a 4–0 home victory against the LA Galaxy. The three goals in a single match made him the youngest player in Major League Soccer history to score a hat-trick. A week later, on August 4, it was announced that Pepi was selected by Bob Bradley to participate in the 2021 MLS All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars. During the match on August 25, Pepi came on as a halftime substitute as the match ended 1–1 in regulation time, going into a penalty shootout. During the shootout, Pepi scored the winning goal for the Major League Soccer All-Stars to give the league a 3–2 victory.
In his next match, on August 29 against Austin FC, Pepi scored two goals for FC Dallas in a 5–3 away victory.
