Tampa Bay Rowdies

Darwin Espinal signed with the Rowdies on December 23, 2014.

Espinal, 19, has spent the past two seasons at Darton State College in Albany, Georgia. At Darton, Espinal was one of the premier players in the National Junior College Athletic Association. He was a 1st-Team All-American in both of his two seasons with the Cavaliers, where he helped the team win the Region 17 Championship Title in 2014.

As a freshman in 2013, Espinal scored 23 goals and notched 10 assists in 16 games. As strong as his freshman campaign was, his sophomore season was even better. In 2014, he scored 29 goals and tallied 19 assists in 19 games. None of his collegiate goals came from the penalty spot. He holds the school record in both goals and points.

Rowdies head coach Thomas Rongen, the former United States Under-20 Men’s National Team coach, has a track record of success discovering young prospects. His finds have included Men’s National Team and Major League Soccer stars Clint Dempsey and Ricardo Clark.

Originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Espinal played high school soccer at Taravella High School in Broward County, where he was the 2012-2013 Class 5A-4A High School Soccer Player of the Year. At the same time, he led his club team, Plantation FC, to win the Florida State Cup Championship and, ultimately, a spot in the Region III Championship. Espinal was named Most Valuable Player in that national tournament and was selected to the Best XI.