Castillo rapidly picking up playing time
Dennis Castillo wanted minutes with the Rapids.
That was the defender’s primary focus coming into this season, his second year in Major League Soccer. He played sparingly as a rookie. Then the beginning of this season was spent on loan to the United Soccer League. He craved time on the pitch with the Rapids’ top dogs; minutes spent helping the team win on the field, not cheering from the sideline.
That hope has slowly come to fruition. He started the last three games for the Rapids, who are off until next Saturday.
“I feel that it’s just been a process that has been building up,” Castillo said. “Thankfully, (coach Pablo Mastroeni) has given me the opportunity.”
Castillo was the 37th pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Just a day after signing his contract in April last year, he was on the field contributing. He checked into his first professional match in the 60th minute, against the Seattle Sounders, and assisted on one of Colorado’s three goals in a victory. But after his first start, in June, Castillo was a nonfactor the rest of the season. His next taste of MLS action came nearly five months later. He played in just four games as a rookie.
This season has been a different story. In his first game back in the Rapids’ lineup after being recalled from the USL, Castillo had his best game as a pro — notching an assist and the winning goal. He played 123 minutes last year. One game over the halfway point of the 2017 season, he already has tallied 244.
Castillo’s soccer journey began at age 4 in his native Costa Rica. It was a humble start — most days there was no soccer ball, so Castillo and his cousins, along with neighbors, would use empty Coke bottles as balls and stones as makeshift goalposts in the streets.
“I’m not going to say I lived in poverty, but I had very few things,” Castillo said. “But we were happy (playing). You don’t know any better.”
The importance of education was instilled by his mother. Even as he shined on the field, playing for the Costa Rican U-18 and U-20 national teams, he kept his head in
the books. He took college classes at night while playing for his club team, Deportivo Saprissa, by day.
“It was probably going to take eight or nine years to graduate (with my situation),” Castillo said. “Then the opportunity of coming to America presented itself and I was like, ‘Let’s go for it.’ ”
At Virginia Commonwealth University, he was a model of consistency for four years — a captain each season and starting a school-record 80 games. But sporadic playing time defined the early part of his pro career. March 27, he was loaned to the Charlotte Independence and missed the Rapids’ first 10 regular-season games.
Being loaned to the USL provided an opportunity to improve, Castillo said, and a chance to get consistent playing time to find a rhythm.
“Even though you go to play at a lower division, you have to take the good part of that, which is getting playing time,” Castillo said. “I got playing time, and I’m getting playing time so far (this season).”