Former NYCFC And U.S. Youth National Team Midfielder Reunites With Tab Ramos
Former NYCFC And U.S. Youth National Team Midfielder Reunites With Tab Ramos
Hartford Athletic announced the signing of the 23-year-old for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Hartford Athletic announced the signing of 23-year-old former New York City FC and U.S. Youth National midfielder Juan Pablo Torres Friday morning, who will reunite with head coach Tab Ramos for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Torres began his soccer career with youth club Georgia United, before signing his first professional contract with Belgian Jupiler Pro League club KSC Lokeren in 2017. He spent two years overseas, registering two appearances before making the move back to the States and signing with Major League Soccer side New York City FC in January 2019.
Torres totaled six appearances with NYC across two seasons, recording one assist. The involvement came in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, setting up a point-blank header for the third goal in a 4-0 fourth-round win against North Carolina SC.
Ahead of the 2021 season, Torres made his USL Championship debut in a season-long loan to Austin Bold FC, where he found his first taste of consistent first-team soccer. He made 25 starts in 28 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting three in that stretch.
He would move to a familiar foe the next year, in fellow Texas-based club and Western Conference side Rio Grande Valley FC. He would continue to find his way into the starting lineup in Edinburg, notching three goals and three assists in 31 appearances and helping the Toros to a playoff appearance in 2022.
Torres also has international experience, having spent time with the U-15, U-16, U-18, and U-20 U.S. Youth National Teams. He made 18 appearances across a four-year stint from 2014-18, most recently playing with current Hartford head coach Tab Ramos with the U-20s in 2018. He made seven appearances, recorded two assists, and found the back of the net four times for Ramos’s squad in the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championships, eventually helping the U.S. to the title that year.
Now, Torres brings two seasons and almost 3,500 minutes of USL Championship experience to the opposite coast, bolstering an injury-riddled midfield depth chart for the Green and Blue. The midfielder will be available for selection in Hartford’s next league outing, a trip to Birmingham Legion on April 30.