Roger Espinoza, like most kids born in Honduras, had dreams of playing professional soccer. The problem is, he didn’t believe them.
Fortunately, others did.
Espinoza’s family moved to the United States when he was 12-years old, and he spent the rest of his youth and adolescence in Denver. He worked hard, inspired by his parents.
He played two years at Yavapai College in Arizona, where he was a junior college national player of the year finalist in 2006. He transferred to Ohio State for his junior season in 2007 and propelled the Buckeyes to the College Cup, scoring in the national championship game against champion Wake Forest. During that match, he caught the attention of Peter Vermes.
When he enrolled in college, and even when he was helping Ohio State reach the final, he didn’t think he had a chance to be drafted. But that changed when he was contacted by Vermes, then the technical director of Sporting Kansas City.
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