This story was originally published in New England Soccer Journal. Hartford Athletic supporters can apply the code HA25 at checkout for 25% off either a year-long digital or all-access subscription. Launched in March 2013, New England Soccer Journal covers youth soccer up to the professional ranks across the entire region. Click here for more info and to subscribe.
Hartford Athletic has signed a third player with New England ties for the 2021 USL Championship campaign, acquiring former Assumption College captain and center back Nicolas Cardona.
Also part of Puerto Rico’s national team, Cardona was last with UB Conquense in Spain’s Segunda Division B. While at the fourth-division side, he trained with their first team and played with their Under-23s.
This offseason, Hartford’s other local-adjacent signings are goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (ex-New England Revolution) and defender Younes Boudadi (ex-Boston College). They both have experience in America’s second division, while Cardona is entering these waters for the first time.
“I’m very excited to join Hartford and make that step because I think it’s the beginning, not of my soccer career, but of my professional career,” Cardona told New England Soccer Journal. “I think it’s a very special moment and I hope for the best. I really want to thank Hartford for giving me the opportunity.”
Describing how Hartford identified him, Cardona pointed to Puerto Rico’s international friendlies in January at the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. That El Huracan Azul camp featured New England Revolution II defender Colby Quinones (Bedford, N.H.), former New England Revolution homegrown midfielder Isaac Angking (Providence, R.I.) and ex-Beachside SC academy center back Giovanni Calderon (North Haven, Conn.).
Cardona said Hartford was scouting Calderon, originally a University of Hartford Class of 2020 commit who’s now in the United States Naval Academy’s Class of 2021. But the 22-year-old caught their eye, leading to the move.
“Giovanni called me saying the Hartford coaches wanted to talk to me, so he gave them my number,” Cardona recalled. “They contacted my agent and people reached out. In a matter of two or three days, it was all done. It was crazy.”
Before getting here, Cardona spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Assumption, a Northeast-10 Conference (Division II) program in Worcester, Mass. He had two goals and two assists across 33 games (30 starts), earning All-NE10 First Team and All-Region Second Team honors as a junior.
During the 2019 campaign, Cardona was integral to what finished as Assumption’s best-ever year. The Greyhounds’ 13-8 record tied a program record for single-season wins, highlighted by their first NE10 title and first NCAA tournament victory. Head coach Chris Payne, who recently took over Hiram College (Division III school in Ohio), was named NESJ’s D-II Men Coach of the Year for guiding the dramatic turnaround.
“We just cared about the next game and weren’t looking ahead,” Cardona said of Assumption’s 2019 season. “We stayed focused on the challenge right there and knew we could win against every team in the league. Obviously some were better than others, but we just kept focused on the next game and the next three available points. It started piling up, and when you start winning you feel unstoppable.”
Cardona departed Assumption after the Fall 2019 semester to pursue a professional career, leading to the initial overseas opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans, so he spent much of the last year training back home in Puerto Rico.
While Cardona’s D-II path is a less-traveled one, his profile grew at Assumption. Other NE10 sides like Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State and Southern New Hampshire also have histories of developing pros.
“I knew players that were pro and they’d ask where I played,” Cardona, who began at Division I side DePaul before transferring, recalled. “I’d say Assumption and they’d tell me I’d just graduate and get a normal job, work right out of school. But I think you have to be 100 percent committed to becoming a pro and sacrifice whatever you need to in order to reach that goal. It’s going to be hard, but it’s possible.”
Now, Cardona joins Hartford Athletic for its third year and will look to prove himself at a club that’s building with young, driven players. He’ll try to impress new head coach Harry Watling when preseason gets underway, joining after Hartford Athletic made the playoffs in 2020.
The 2021 USL Championship season is slated to start around May 1, with teams playing 32 games across 27 weeks. Schedule specifics haven’t been released, though teams will be split into four divisions. During the 2020 season, USL Championship teams were divided into eight groups.
“If you want to become a pro, you’re going to do everything that you can to accomplish that,” Cardona said. “And I knew Assumption wasn’t going to be the end of my soccer career. I knew it’d be hard because it was Division II, but you have to keep pushing.”
This story was originally published in New England Soccer Journal. Hartford Athletic supporters can apply the code HA25 at checkout for 25% off either a year-long digital or all-access subscription. Launched in March 2013, New England Soccer Journal covers youth soccer up to the professional ranks across the entire region. Click here for more info and to subscribe.
Hartford Athletic has signed a third player with New England ties for the 2021 USL Championship campaign, acquiring former Assumption College captain and center back Nicolas Cardona.
Also part of Puerto Rico’s national team, Cardona was last with UB Conquense in Spain’s Segunda Division B. While at the fourth-division side, he trained with their first team and played with their Under-23s.
This offseason, Hartford’s other local-adjacent signings are goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (ex-New England Revolution) and defender Younes Boudadi (ex-Boston College). They both have experience in America’s second division, while Cardona is entering these waters for the first time.
“I’m very excited to join Hartford and make that step because I think it’s the beginning, not of my soccer career, but of my professional career,” Cardona told New England Soccer Journal. “I think it’s a very special moment and I hope for the best. I really want to thank Hartford for giving me the opportunity.”
Describing how Hartford identified him, Cardona pointed to Puerto Rico’s international friendlies in January at the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. That El Huracan Azul camp featured New England Revolution II defender Colby Quinones (Bedford, N.H.), former New England Revolution homegrown midfielder Isaac Angking (Providence, R.I.) and ex-Beachside SC academy center back Giovanni Calderon (North Haven, Conn.).
Cardona said Hartford was scouting Calderon, originally a University of Hartford Class of 2020 commit who’s now in the United States Naval Academy’s Class of 2021. But the 22-year-old caught their eye, leading to the move.
“Giovanni called me saying the Hartford coaches wanted to talk to me, so he gave them my number,” Cardona recalled. “They contacted my agent and people reached out. In a matter of two or three days, it was all done. It was crazy.”
Before getting here, Cardona spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Assumption, a Northeast-10 Conference (Division II) program in Worcester, Mass. He had two goals and two assists across 33 games (30 starts), earning All-NE10 First Team and All-Region Second Team honors as a junior.
During the 2019 campaign, Cardona was integral to what finished as Assumption’s best-ever year. The Greyhounds’ 13-8 record tied a program record for single-season wins, highlighted by their first NE10 title and first NCAA tournament victory. Head coach Chris Payne, who recently took over Hiram College (Division III school in Ohio), was named NESJ’s D-II Men Coach of the Year for guiding the dramatic turnaround.
“We just cared about the next game and weren’t looking ahead,” Cardona said of Assumption’s 2019 season. “We stayed focused on the challenge right there and knew we could win against every team in the league. Obviously some were better than others, but we just kept focused on the next game and the next three available points. It started piling up, and when you start winning you feel unstoppable.”
Cardona departed Assumption after the Fall 2019 semester to pursue a professional career, leading to the initial overseas opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed those plans, so he spent much of the last year training back home in Puerto Rico.
While Cardona’s D-II path is a less-traveled one, his profile grew at Assumption. Other NE10 sides like Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State and Southern New Hampshire also have histories of developing pros.
“I knew players that were pro and they’d ask where I played,” Cardona, who began at Division I side DePaul before transferring, recalled. “I’d say Assumption and they’d tell me I’d just graduate and get a normal job, work right out of school. But I think you have to be 100 percent committed to becoming a pro and sacrifice whatever you need to in order to reach that goal. It’s going to be hard, but it’s possible.”
Now, Cardona joins Hartford Athletic for its third year and will look to prove himself at a club that’s building with young, driven players. He’ll try to impress new head coach Harry Watling when preseason gets underway, joining after Hartford Athletic made the playoffs in 2020.
The 2021 USL Championship season is slated to start around May 1, with teams playing 32 games across 27 weeks. Schedule specifics haven’t been released, though teams will be split into four divisions. During the 2020 season, USL Championship teams were divided into eight groups.
“If you want to become a pro, you’re going to do everything that you can to accomplish that,” Cardona said. “And I knew Assumption wasn’t going to be the end of my soccer career. I knew it’d be hard because it was Division II, but you have to keep pushing.”
