Raphaël Garcia (born 6 May 1999) is a Canadian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who last played for the

Carleton Ravens The Carleton Ravens are the athletic teams that represent Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. The most notable sports team for Carleton is the men's basketball team. In men's basketball, the Ravens have won 16 of the last 19 national men's ...

as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Garcia also played for

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...

in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Club career

Early career

Garcia started playing soccer at the age of 4. By the age of 8, Garcia started playing competitively with the Gloucester Hornets. After playing many years in Ottawa, Garcia decided to attend the open trials of the

Montreal Impact Academy Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. Impressing the selectors, he secured a spot on the team, joining forces with Canadian International

Ballou Tabla Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla (born 31 March 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for TFF First League club Manisa. Early life Tabla was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on 31 March 1999, and he moved as a child to Canad ...

and

Mathieu Choinière Mathieu Choinière (born February 7, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for CF Montréal in Major League Soccer. Early life Choinière was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and grew up in the neighbouring Saint-Alexan ...

. At 13 years of age, Garcia left his family to be the first ever Gloucester Hornets player to join the Montreal Impact Academy. During his time in the academy of

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 ...

side Montreal Impact, Garcia made 79 appearances in

USSDA The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's missio ...

, scoring 11 goals. On 7 September 2018, Garcia played in the Cap City Cup with USL Championship side Ottawa Fury in a 1–0 loss to Montreal Impact.

Valour FC

On 10 January 2019, Garcia signed a multi-year deal as his first professional contract with

side

. He made his senior debut on 11 May 2019 as a starter in a 1–0 win over HFX Wanderers FC. Garcia made 17 appearances, assisting 2 goals.

Carleton Ravens

Garcia, an Ottawa native, returned to the

ahead of the 2021-22 season after playing two seasons in the

with Winnipeg's

. Garcia was one of the first ever players to leave the CPL for U SPORTS. Garcia was outspoken about his reasons for the switch, particularly criticizing the league's minimum salary. In his first season with Carleton, Garcia quickly established himself as one of the country's best defenders. His defensive efforts were pivotal in leading the team to a U SPORTS silver medal, earning him recognition as a First Team OUA All-Star and a First Team All-Canadian. After contributing two goals and four assists in nine regular season games, Carleton's Garcia was also named Ottawa’s best soccer player at the 2021 Ottawa Sports Awards. In his second year, Garcia’s success extended beyond the soccer field into his academic pursuits. As a Law student, he achieved an impressive 11.11 GPA (out of 12), earning Academic All-Canadian and Dean's Honours List awards. His dedication to both his sport and studies has been widely recognized. Kwesi Loney, Ravens Manager of Soccer Programs, praised Garcia's work ethic and commitment, noting that his recognition is well-deserved and indicative of his potential. Garcia's accolades include being the third Raven and the first soccer player to earn the U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian Award, joining the ranks of

Rob Smart Robert Smart (born 1978) is a Canadian basketball coach and former professional player. As an interim head coach, he guided the Carleton Ravens to the 2016 U Sports national championship. He is the nephew of Dave Smart and cousins with Aaron Doornek ...

(2002-2003) and

Tyson Hinz Tyson Boyd Hinz (born October 12, 1991) is a former Canadian professional basketball player. Hinz played the power forward position, and last played for Mitteldeutscher BC of the German ProA. College career Hinz enjoyed a decorated career at Carl ...

(2013-2014) from the men's basketball team. He is also the first OUA men's soccer player from any school to win the award since Darragh McGee of Toronto in 2011-2012. Governor-General Mary Simon presented the Top 8 Academic All-Canadian awards during a Rideau Hall ceremony to Garcia. In 2023, Garcia was appointed captain of the Ravens for his third and final season. While leading a young team, Garcia scored three goals and led the country in assists with a total of eight, as a defender. Garcia, with help from childhood friend Luca Piccioli, led the Carleton Ravens to a 10-1-1 record along with their first OUA Championship since 2019, and qualified for the U SPORTS National Championship. Following a heart-breaking exit in penalties to the Montreal Carabins, Garcia announced his retirement from football on social media. Garcia was recognized at the Annual Varsity Banquet with the Jack Vogan Award as the Graduating Male Athlete of the Year. In his three-year career with Carleton, Garcia earned numerous accolades, including a U SPORTS silver medal, an OUA Championship, two OUA First-team all-star honours, U SPORTS First Team and Second Team All-Canadian honors, and three-time Academic All-Canadian recognition. He also received the Ottawa Sports Award as the city's top soccer player in 2022 and the Jack Vogan Award. Garcia's journey at Carleton makes him one of the best defenders to ever play for the Ravens along as one of the most distinguished student-athletes.

International career

Garcia was 14 years old when he made his debut in the Canadian youth program in November 2013 as part of an U15 identification camp in Vaughan.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Raphael 1999 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian people of Spanish descent Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Ottawa Valour FC players Canadian Premier League players