Big goal for ex-siena Saint
Obregon, who played at Siena, aided Honduras vs. Americans
J.C. Obregon scored the first goal as Honduras knocks off Team USA 2-1 in Olympics qualifying tournament.
Former Siena men’s soccer player J.C. Obregon realized his Olympic dream on Sunday night while helping to dash the hopes of the United States, the country where he was raised.
Obregon, 23, scored the first goal as Honduras knocked off Team USA 2-1 in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympics qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.
With the victory, Honduras earned a berth in the Tokyo Games this summer, while the U.S. was denied the Olympics for the third consecutive time and fourth in five tries.
Obregon, a midfielder for Siena in 2015 and 2016, was born and raised in Brooklyn but has dual citizenship because his parents are both Honduran.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Obregon said in a phone interview Monday. “After the final whistle, it just all came down at once. It was just a surreal moment, a lot of happiness. I felt proud of myself, the team, the whole country, and it’s going to be an unbelievable experience to go down to Tokyo and compete in the Olympics, for sure.”
Obregon, whose full name is Juan Carlos, will be one of a handful of Siena athletes to reach the Olympics, joining basketball players Dwight Walton (Canada, 1988) and Liene Jansone (Latvia 2008); Nathalie Marchino in rugby (Colombia, 2016); and George Tucker in luge (Puerto Rico, 1984).
“I remember the whole Siena community was like a whole big family,” Obregon said. “It was a great place to be. It was two important years where I grew a lot, matured a lot as a person and as an athlete.”
Obregon had five goals and three assists in 39 college matches. He left after his sophomore year to pursue a professional career in Mexico’s top league. He also plays for the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, a United Soccer League affiliate of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo FC.
Obregon’s goal in the first half on Monday was his first for the Honduran U-23 national team. It came off a free kick and Obregon charged the net to knee the ball
past U.S. goalkeeper David Ochoa for a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.
“I asked my teammate to bring down the ball to me, I ran in with faith, the ball came to me and I had to put the ball in the back of the net,” Obregon said. “In a game of that magnitude, it’s really important to score the first goal, take control of the game and put pressure on the opponent.”
Honduras took a 2-0 lead on a critical error by Ochoa in the second half and then held on for the win.
Honduras, a Central American country with a population of fewer than 10 million, knocked out the United States, with about 330 million people.
“In between the lines, on the field, it doesn’t really matter, small country, big country,” Obregon said. “It’s your will against the opponent’s will, and also it comes down to capitalizing on mistakes. I felt we played the better game and that’s why we came out with the victory.”
Honduras will play host Mexico in the tournament championship match on Tuesday.
Obregon acknowledged mixed emotions about eliminating his home country from Olympic contention. Instead, he’ll go with Honduras, which finished fourth in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de
Janeiro.
“You know, being born and raised in the U.S., scoring a goal and knocking them out felt kind of heavy,” he said. “But as a professional athlete, you have to learn how to bottle up those emotions and always be able to perform at a peak level. And, you know, I consider myself Honduran, too, because of my family. The culture I grew up in, my home, was pretty much Honduran, and I’m proud to represent my country and be able to punch their ticket to the Olympics.”