Columbus, OHIO - Carlos Villa, a former member of the University of Hartford men's soccer team and 2010 Hartford graduate, and his current team Club Social y Deportivo Municipal were in the national spotlight on FOX Soccer Channel on Wednesday, August 18. Villa and CSD Municipal took on the Columbus Crew of the Major League Soccer in Day One of the 2010 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football's (CONCACAF) Champions League. The Crew netted a goal early in the contest to squeeze by Municipal by a 1-0 final.
Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municpal, is a Guatemalan professional football club based in Guatemala City. The club, which was founded in 1936, has been the nation's most successful team having won the domestic league on 28 occasions since its inception in the national league in 1942. Additionally, Municipal is the only Guatemalan club team to capture the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, a title that was obtained in 1974.
Villa, a two-year member of the Hawks' front line in 2008 and 2009, led the team in scoring for two-straight season with 18 points in 16 games, including a pair of assists and a team-best eight goals. The Las Conchas, Guatemala native finished fourth in the America East in points (1.12 ppg) and goals (0.50 gpg).
After transferring to Hartford from San Jacinto College for the 2008 season, Villa led the Hawks with 25 points while notching a conference-best 11 goals, four of which were game-winners. During his two year Division I stint, Villa compiled 19 goals and five assists for 43 career points while helping the Hawks to back-to-back America East tournament appearances. Additionally, Villa earned a pair of America East honors (First Team, 2008; Second Team, 2009), and was a two-time NSCAA All-Region Third Team selection.
Villa and the Hawks closed out the 2009 regular season ranked third in the conference standings while earning a berth in the America East Championship for the third-straight season. Following a 2-1 defeat of Boston University in the quarterfinals, the Hawks fell to Stony Brook in a penalty kick shootout in the semifinals of the America East Championship.
Hartford finished the 2009 season with an overall record of 8-7-3 overall, including a 4-2-1 mark in the America East. The 13 points recorded during conference play by the Hawks was the most since 2003 when they went 4-3-1 in league play.
The 2010 edition of the Hawks, which includes 12 returners and 12 new faces, will begin the quest for their first America East Championship since the 1999 season with a match at Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Boston College on Wednesday, September 1.
