Dennis Castillo

Dennis Castillo

Personal information
Full name	Dennis Castillo
Date of birth	April 30, 1993
Place of birth	Desamparados, Costa Rica
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Colorado Rapids
Number	26
Youth career
2006–2011	Saprissa
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2015	VCU Rams	59	(14)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2015	Portland Timbers U23s	13	(0)
2016–	Colorado Rapids	1	(0)
2016–	→ Charlotte Independence (loan)	1	(0)
International career‡
	Costa Rica U17
	Costa Rica U20
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 May 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 January 2016

Dennis Castillo (born April 30, 1993) is a Costa Rican footballer who plays for Charlotte Independence of the United Soccer League on loan from Colorado Rapids. Prior to playing for the Rapids, Castillo played senior level football for the Portland Timbers U23s in the USL Premier Development League, where he won defender of the year honors. Castillo played college soccer for the VCU Rams, and was part of the development academy for Deportivo Saprissa, one of the top clubs in Costa Rica.

Career

Youth and college

Castillo signed a letter of intent to play for Virginia Commonwealth University's men's soccer program. In his freshman year, Castillo was an immediate starter and was a third captain his freshman year, starting and playing in all 18 matches during the 2012 season. He netted six goals in freshman year, with his first coming on August 30, 2012 against UMBC. Ultimately, he was part of a squad that was ranked as high as 14th in the nation, and helped the Rams earn their first NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2004. His freshman year success earned him several allocates including the 2012 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and 2012 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie squad. Nationally, Castillo was tabbed by CollegeSoccerNews.com as a Freshman All-American and was selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America to the Second Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region.

During his sophomore year campaign, Castillo remained a starter and scored six goals and had an assist in the 21 matches he played in 2013. He helped the Rams earn a national ranking as high as eighth in the nation, their highest in over 10 years, and helped the Rams qualify for a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. As a sophomore, Castillo earned All-Atlantic 10 First Team, the NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region First Team, and VaSID All-State First Team. In his junior year, he captained the Rams and was part of a defense that ranked 11th in the nation in goals scored. During his senior year, he helped the Rams reach the 2015 Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament championship game, and was named with conference honors.

Professional

On January 11, 2016, Castillo was selected 37th overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by Colorado Rapids. He made his debut on April 23, 2016 coming on for Eric Miller in the 60th minute. Castillo had an assist in his debut assisting Kevin Doyle in a 3–1 victory over visiting Seattle Sounders FC. On April 28, 2016 it was announced that Castillo would go on a season-long loan to Charlotte Independence of the third-division United Soccer League.

Honors

• PDL Defensive Player of the Year: 2015

External links

• VCU Profile
• MLS Profile