New Mexico United and New Mexico 811 are thrilled to announce the sixth round of additions to the U-23 roster in the team’s history. Winger Yutaro Tsukada, and forwards Isai Rivas and Marcus Garcia join the inaugural roster to bring the number of announced players to eighteen ahead of the inaugural season, with more announcements yet to come.
“Yutaro, Isai, and Marcus will be excellent additions to the United family, and help us push for a title in our inaugural season,” said New Mexico United U-23 Head Coach Luke Sanford. “These young men will help us create an exciting brand of soccer, that we are exciting to bring across New Mexico this year.”
Yutaro Tsukada was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, and has played the last two seasons at Daytona State College. In that time Tsukada has played in 24 matches, scoring 26 goals and assisting another 11. In 2021, he led the Falcons to a #6 ranking in the nation for junior colleges. This year, he will be transferring to West Virginia University, joining the Mountaineers in the fall.
Isai Rivas is an Albuquerque-native and the brother of New Mexico United first-team forward Sergio Rivas. He attended Volcano Vista High School until graduation, and then played one season at Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado. He played in eleven matches at Otero in the 2019-2020 season, scoring four goals, and assisting three more.
Marcus Garcia is an Albuquerque-native who attended St. Pius X and played club soccer for RIo Rapids. In his time at Pius, Garcia scored 39 goals and assisted 24 more in three seasons. He won multiple all-district and all-state awards in that time. After high school, Garcia spent his freshman season at the University of Maryland, redshirting that year. Garcia will be transferring to UC Davis this year, joining the Aggies in the fall.
United U-23 will compete in the USL League Two Mountain Division in the 2022 season.