Dennis Castillo Romero (born April 30, 1993) is a

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for Sporting San José in

Liga FPD The Primera División of Costa Rica, commonly known as Fútbol de Primera División (FPD), and Liga Promerica for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional association football division in Costa Rica. It is administered by the Unión de Clubes ...

. Prior to playing for Sporting, Castillo played for Pérez Zeledón in Liga FPD, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and the

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memorial ...

in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

. Castillo also played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

for the

VCU Rams The VCU Rams are the athletic teams of Virginia Commonwealth University of Richmond, Virginia, United States. The Rams compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The most succ ...

, and was part of the development academy for

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

, one of the top clubs in Costa Rica.

Career

Youth and college

Castillo signed a letter of intent to play for

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

's men's soccer program. In his freshman year, Castillo was an immediate starter and a third captain, starting all 18 matches during the 2012 season. He netted six goals in his freshman year, with his first coming on August 30, 2012, against

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

. Ultimately, he was part of a squad that was ranked as high as 14th in the nation, and helped the Rams earn their first NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2004. His freshman year success earned him several allocates including the 2012 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and 2012 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie squad. Nationally, Castillo was tabbed by CollegeSoccerNews.com as a Freshman All-American and was selected by the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of United States, American soccer Coach (sport), coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization i ...

to the Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region. During his sophomore year, Castillo remained a starter and scored six goals and had an assist in the 21 matches he played in 2013. He helped the Rams earn a national ranking as high as eighth in the nation, their highest in over 10 years, and helped the Rams qualify for a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. As a sophomore, Castillo earned All-Atlantic 10 First Team, the NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region First Team, and VaSID All-State First Team. In his junior year, he captained the Rams and was part of a defense that ranked 11th in the nation in goals scored. During his senior year, he helped the Rams reach the 2015 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament championship game, and was named with conference honors.

Professional

On January 11, 2016, Castillo was selected 37th overall in the

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

. He made his debut on April 23, 2016, coming on for

Eric Miller Eric, Erik, or Erick Miller may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Eric Miller (record producer) (c. 1941–2017), American record producer and Norman Granz's protégé *Eric Miller (photographer) (born 1951), South African photographer during and ...

in the 60th minute. Castillo had an assist in his debut assisting

Kevin Doyle Kevin Edward Doyle (born 18 September 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Wexford F.C. (formerly Wexford Youths), St Patrick's Athletic, and Cork City in his homeland before he moved to Eng ...

in a 3–1 victory over visiting

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. On April 28, 2016, it was announced that Castillo would go on a season-long loan to

of the

. However, after one game he returned to the Rapids. On June 22, 2016, Castillo made his first MLS start for Colorado, playing in the entire 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at LA Galaxy. His contracted option was declined by Colorado at the end of the 2017 season. On January 5, 2018, Castillo signed with Pérez Zeledón in his native Costa Rica.

Honors

* PDL Defensive Player of the Year: 2015

References

External links

VCU Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Dennis Capital FC players Colorado Rapids players Major League Soccer players Liga FPD players USL League Two players VCU Rams men's soccer players Costa Rican footballers Costa Rican expatriates in the United States Living people 1993 births Expatriate soccer players in the United States Colorado Rapids draft picks Charlotte Independence players A.D. Municipal Pérez Zeledón footballers Men's association football defenders