Nick Garcia (born April 9, 1979 in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

) is an American former soccer player.

Career

Youth and College

As a junior and senior at

Bishop Lynch High School Bishop Lynch High School is a college preparatory school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas founded by the Dominican Order in Dallas, Texas, United States. The school serves grades 9–12. It opened in 1963 with 365 students and now has over ...

in Dallas, Texas, Garcia helped his high school win their first 2 TAPPS state boys soccer championships in 1996 and 1997. He was selected to the all-district, all-state and all-tournament teams. Garcia won the 1996–97 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year award, as well, while starring for Dallas Texans youth club. Garcia 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 K ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, leading Indiana to the consecutive national titles in 1998 and 1999, and was named All-American in his final season. Garcia was also named the Soccer America National Freshman of the year while at Indiana University and won the 1999 NCAA Defensive MVP in the College Cup Tournament.

Professional

Garcia signed with Project-40 and MLS in 2000, and was drafted second overall (behind Steve Shak) in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards. Garcia subsequently played in – and started – 224 games for the Wizards between 2000 and 2007 and helped the Wizards win the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, and the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

in 2004. He joined the San Jose Earthquakes as their captain upon their return to MLS in 2008. In early 2009 Garcia signed a multi-year contract with San Jose, but was traded (along with the rights to Canadian international

Ali Gerba Ali Ngon Gerba (; born September 4, 1981) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Cameroon, he represented the Canada national team. Club career Canada and United States In 2000 Gerba signed with the Montreal ...

) to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

on June 9, 2009 for a third round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. After the 2010 MLS season Toronto declined Garcia's contract option and he elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Garcia became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft.

International

Garcia played in the 1997 World Youth Championship in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

and captained the US Under-20 national team at the World Youth Championship in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in 1999. Garcia earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the full

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

on January 18, 2003, against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. So far, he has amassed six caps for the United States.

Personal life

Garcia is married to his wife MeLinda. They have three children.

Honors

;Kansas City Wizards *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

: 2004 * Major League Soccer MLS Cup:

* Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield:

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: 2004 ;Toronto FC * Canadian Championship: 2009, 2010

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Nick 1979 births Living people American soccer players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Sporting Kansas City players San Jose Earthquakes players Toronto FC players Sportspeople from Plano, Texas United States men's international soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player winners Expatriate soccer players in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Sporting Kansas City draft picks Association football defenders All-American men's college soccer players