Darwin Espinal

Darwin Espinal (born 16 January 1995) is a Honduran professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for New York Cosmos in the National Independent Soccer Association.

Darwin Espinal
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-01-16) 16 January 1995
Place of birth Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Forward, Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 New York Cosmos
Number 20
Youth career
Plantation FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Darton Cavaliers 35 (52)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Tampa Bay Rowdies 25 (4)
2016 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 2 (1)
2017 South Florida Surf 2 (0)
2017–2018 Reno 1868 13 (2)
2018–2019 New York Cosmos B 16 (9)
2020– New York Cosmos 0 (0)
2020 → Oakland Roots (loan) 0 (0)
2020 → Detroit City (loan) 0 (0)
National team‡
2015– Honduras U23 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 August 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 December 2015

Career

College and Youth

Espinal was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, though his family moved Washington DC, Espinal and family later moved to Broward County, Florida where he played high school soccer for J. P. Taravella High School. While at Taravella, Espinal was named the 2012–2013 Florida Class 5A-4A Player of the Year. Espinal also enjoyed success at the club level in Broward, playing for Plantation FC. Espinal led Plantation to the Florida State Cup Championship and a spot in the Region III Championship, where he was named tournament MVP.

Coming out of high school, Espinal had an offer to join the Chicago Fire SC Academy, but he opted to go to college at Albany, Georgia's Darton State College. In his freshman season as a Darton Cavalier, Espinal scored 23 goals and notched 10 assists in just 16 games. During his 2014 sophomore season, Espinal continued his impressive form, scoring 29 goals with 19 assists in 19 games. He was a 1st Team NJCAA All-American both years and helped the Cavaliers win the Region 17 Championship in 2014. His 52 goals and 81 points were both good for school records.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

On 23 December 2014 it was announced that Espinal had signed his first professional contract with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League.[1] During the Rowdies preseason tour of Portugal ahead of their 2015 campaign, Espinal scored goals against the 'B' teams of S.L. Benfica[2] and Sporting CP.[3]

Espinal's strong preseason performance earned him a spot in Coach Thomas Rongen's starting eleven for the Rowdies first match of the 2015 season against the San Antonio Scorpions. Espinal cashed in on the opportunity, scoring a goal in first half stoppage time off an assist by Darnell King.[4]

South Florida Surf

In 2017, Espinal signed on to play with the South Florida Surf of the Premier Development League. For three weeks, Espinal was listed as the PDL's top prospect.

Reno 1868 FC

On June 21st, 2017 it was announced that Espinal had signed with Reno 1868 FC of the USL in a one-year deal.[5] He scored his first goal for the team on July 3 in its historic 9-0 rout of LA Galaxy II; Espinal's 88th minute strike, Reno's ninth of the game, set the league record for largest margin of victory.[6] He was one of five Reno players called up by the San Jose Earthquakes, Reno's Major League Soccer affiliate, to play in its July 14 friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt, and made his first appearance for the club off the bench during the 4-1 victory in the 33rd minute for Danny Hoesen.[7]

International career

Espinal was called up to represent Honduras for the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in the United States.

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References
  1. "Attacking Prospect Darwin Espinal Signs with Rowdies". Tampa Bay Rowdies. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  2. "Rowdies Beat Benfica U-20 3-1 in Second Match of Portugal Tour". Tampa Bay Rowdies. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. "Espinal and Boggs Score in 3-2 Loss to Sporting Lisbon B". Tampa Bay Rowdies. Archived from the original on 31 March 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. "Rowdies Open Season With 3-1 Win Over Defending Champions San Antonio Scorpions". Tampa Bay Rowdies. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  5. "Reno 1868 FC Signs Dynamic Midfielder Darwin Espinal". Reno1868FC.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  6. "Reno Sets Record in Rout of Galaxy II". USL Soccer. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  7. "RECAP: Earthquakes Defeat Bundesliga's Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1". San Jose Earthquakes. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
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