Background
Espinal was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, though his family moved to Broward County, Florida where he played high school soccer for J. P. Taravella High School.
Espinal was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, though his family moved to Broward County, Florida where he played high school soccer for J. P. Taravella High School.
College and Youth
Espinal also enjoyed success at the club level in Broward, playing for Plantation Football Club. Espinal led Plantation to the Florida State Cup Championship and a spot in the Region III Championship, where he was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Coming out of high school, Espinal had an offer to join the Chicago Fire South Carolina Academy, but he opted to go to college at Albany, Georgia"s Darton State College. In his freshman season as a Darton Cavalier, Espinal scored 23 goals and notched 10 assists in just 16 games. During his 2014 sophomore season, Espinal continued his impressive form, scoring 29 goals with 19 assists in 19 games.
His 52 goals and 81 points were both good for school records.
Tampa Bay Rowdies
On 23 December 2014 it was announced that Espinal had signed his first professional contract with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League. During the Rowdies preseason tour of Portugal ahead of their 2015 campaign, Espinal scored goals against the "B" teams of South.L. Benfica and Sporting Communist Party. Espinal"s strong preseason performance earned him a spot in Coach Thomas Rongen"s starting eleven for the Rowdies first match of the 2015 season against the San Antonio Scorpions.
Espinal cashed in on the opportunity, scoring a goal in first half stoppage time off an assist by Darnell King. Espinal was called up to represent Honduras for the 2015 CONCACAF Men"s Olympic Qualifying Championship in the United States.