Josh García (born 28 July 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the club Oklahoma City Energy. Born in the United States, he represents the Dominican Republic national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joshua García[1] | ||
| Date of birth | July 28, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Massachusetts, United States | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Oklahoma City Energy | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2011 | Grant High School | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2013 | Northern Oklahoma College | 27 | (1) |
| 2013–2016 | Friends Falcons | 8 | (1) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Oklahoma City Energy U23 | 11 | (2) |
| 2019– | Oklahoma City Energy | 1 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019– | Dominican Republic | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 October 2019 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 March 2019 | |||
Professional career
editA troubled youth raised by a single mother, García began playing soccer as a youth to get away from trouble after ending up in a juvenile center for delinquents. He was a member of the varsity team at Grant High School in Oklahoma City. He was scouted by colleges, and played at Northern Oklahoma College for 2 years, before transferring to the Friends Falcons until 2016.
García broke his foot before joining Friends University, and again shortly after he was recovering. Struggling with depression, he took a break to his hometown only to find more problems when his brother was incarcerated. García turned to drinking and attempted suicide. After this depressive episode, García vowed to prevent his family from further suffering and returned to school and soccer with renewed focus. After graduating college, he only played soccer recreationally and got a job as a service rep for Lincare.[2]
In January 2018, he joined the open tryouts for OKC Energy FC. He ended up joining their U23 team, and eventually captained them. On 10 January 2019, García signed for the senior OKC Energy FC squad for the 2019 season.[3]
International career
editGarcía was born in the United States, and is of Dominican descent. He made his professional debut for the Dominican Republic national football team in a 1-0 friendly over win Guadeloupe on 15 February 2019.[4][5]
International goals
edit- Scores and results list the Dominican Republic's goal tally first.[6]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7 September 2019 | Blakes Estate Stadium, Lookout, Montserrat |  Montserrat |
1–0 | 1–2 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B |
References
edit- ^ "Dominican Republic - J. García - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ "How soccer motivated Energy FC's Josh Garcia to persevere on OKC's south side". NewsOK.com. 4 July 2018.
- ^ Vaughn, Tyler (10 January 2019). "Energy FC Sign Local Talent, U23 Captain Josh Garcia". OKC Energy FC.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Dominican Republic vs. Guadeloupe (1:0)". www.national-football-teams.com.
- ^ Vaughn, Tyler (10 February 2019). "Josh Garcia Called Up to Dominican Republic National Team". OKC Energy FC.
- ^ "Josh García". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
External links
edit- Josh García at National-Football-Teams.com
- Friends Athletics Profile
- OKC Energy U23
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