Carlos García is a Colombian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player formerly of the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

in the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

Career

Youth

García was born and raised in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He learned to play soccer at the Academia Tucamán in his hometown of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, Valle del Cauca. The club played at a very high level by local youth soccer standards. His long-time teammate and friend at Tucamán, Daniel Cruz, left the academy at 17 to join

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

in Amsterdam and now plays in the Belgian Pro league.

College

García came to the United States in 1999 via a soccer scholarship to

The College of William and Mary ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

. He was identified by William and Mary head coach Al Albert when his high school soccer team attended Albert's Tidewater Soccer Camp in Virginia. Carlos's physical style of play was well-suited for NCAA soccer. García was a First-Team All-South Atlantic Region selection his last season playing for the

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in wo ...

. He recorded nine goals and 11 assists his final year to lead the Tribe to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Carlos recorded 121 points throughout his William & Mary career and graduated in 2003. In May 2015, García was inducted to the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame.

A-League

García spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons with the professional outdoor team the Virginia Beach Mariners. He recorded five goals and nine assists in 25 games in 2004 and was named A-League Player of the Week on August 10. He ranked second in the A-League that season with nine assists to teammates.

Baltimore Blast

García is one of the most accomplished team players in the history of American professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

.Star Track: Carlos Garci
articles.dailypress.com
/ref> On November 14, 2003, García scored a goal on the first shift of his first professional indoor soccer game. For the following eight seasons Carlos was an integral part of the highly successful

indoor soccer team, which competed in the

. A rough player with an eye for goal, in the 2006–07 season, García ranked third among Blast players in points (42) and led the entire league in penalty minutes (27). He played in his 100th game for the Blast against the New Jersey Ironmen on February 16, 2008. Carlos was an integral part of the club's championship squads in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2009.Carlos Garcia Player Profil
www.baltimoreblast.com

Personal

García is known to friends and family simply as "Charlie".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Carlos 1981 births Living people Footballers from Cali Men's association football defenders Baltimore Blast (2001–2008 MISL) players Baltimore Blast (2008–2014 MISL) players Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Colombian men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Soccer players from Maryland William & Mary Tribe men's soccer players Virginia Beach Mariners players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL League Two players Legacy 76 players 21st-century Colombian sportsmen es:Carlos Garcia