Diego Abarca (born June 19, 2005) is an American 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 who plays for

Austin FC II Austin FC II is an American professional soccer team that is located in Austin, Texas. It is the reserve team of Austin FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On August 4, 2022, Austin FC was named as one of seven MLS clubs that would f ...

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

Career

El Paso Locomotive

As part of the El Paso youth academy, Abarca signed a USL Academy contract allowing him to play in professional games in 2021. He made his professional debut on March 24, 2022, against

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

. He started and played 58 minutes. He scored his first professional goal against

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...

on June 5, 2022, three minutes after coming on as a substitute for fellow Academy member Venancio Calderon. This goal later won Locomotive Goal of the Year. He also became the youngest player to score a goal for Locomotive. On October 28, 2022, Abarca signed a fully professional contract with El Paso ahead of the 2023 season.

Austin FC II

On 20 June 2024, Abarca was signed by Austin FC II through the 2024 season with two two-year options.

Personal life

Born in the United States to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an parents, his father, José, was a footballer for

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile currently participating in the Primera División de Chile. History Foundation, Amateur Era and First seasons ...

and his mother, Sandra Ramírez, is the cousin of the former Chile international footballer,

Jorge Acuña Jorge Cristian Acuña Concha (born 31 July 1978 in Ovalle), also known by his nickname Kike Acuña, is a Chilean football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Ovalle, IV Region of Coquimbo, Acuña joi ...

Career statistics

Club

; Notes

References

External links

* 2005 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders El Paso Locomotive FC players Soccer players from Texas Soccer players from El Paso, Texas Sportspeople of Chilean descent USL Championship players 21st-century American sportsmen Austin FC II players MLS Next Pro players {{US-footy-midfielder-2000s-stub