Defender Daniel Garcia has been named the MLS NEXT Rising Star of the Matchday for week seven of the 2023 season, the league announced today. The 18-year-old center back scored his first-ever professional goal this weekend against LA Galaxy II, giving the team one of five goals on the night.
Rapids 2 put up a dominant performance this weekend against LA Galaxy II at Dignity Health Sports Park. Amidst the excellent play of the team, it was the young defender Garcia who stood out, scoring his first goal of the season within five minutes of coming on as a substitute.
The second-year Rapids 2 player entered the game at the start of the second half to help shore up the Rapids 2 backline, but ended up scoring during a set piece scramble in the box that gave the team its third goal of the game.
Garcia is a long-standing member of the Rapids organization, having joined the Rapids Academy as a U-12 player. He joined Rapids 2 last year for his first professional season, making 13 appearances for the second team throughout the 2022 season.
Prior to the game against Galaxy II, Garcia had made three appearances for Rapids 2 in the current season, with two of those being starts.
