Eric Humberto Avila (born November 24, 1987) is an American professional soccer player who has played as a midfielder and defender.

[6] Avila was recruited with a scholarship to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara by head coach Tim Vom Steeg.

[3] Avila was the marquee signing in a class that contained future professionals Chris Pontius, Alfonso Motagalvan, and Ryan Kenny.

[7] As a freshman on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team in 2005, he started 21 games while scoring three goals and assisting on five more.

[8] Avila was named to the College Soccer News All-Freshman First Team as well as being the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year.

[17] During his college years, Avila also played in the USL Premier Development League for the San Fernando Valley Quakes[18] and Ventura County Fusion.

Avila decided to sign a Generation Adidas contract and he was subsequently drafted in the 2nd round (19th overall) by FC Dallas in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.

[20] He earned his first MLS career assist on a header by Abe Thompson during stoppage time helping FC Dallas to a 1–1 tie against the Kansas City Wizards on July 4, 2008.

In December 2008, Avila traveled to England with fellow FC Dallas teammates Bruno Guarda, Josh Lambo, and Anthony Wallace along with other Generation Adidas players for friendlies against the reserve squads of Chelsea, Reading, and Aston Villa.

[37] He helped lead the U.S. to the finals of the Ballymena International Tournament held in Northern Ireland, which he regards as one of his most memorable moments in sports.

In addition to tournaments, he played in a number of matches against Major League Soccer teams, including Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, and Columbus Crew, while scoring the game-tying goal in a friendly against the San Jose Earthquakes.