The Charlotte Independence forward is on a tear after joining the club two weeks into the 2024 season.
Image credit Charlotte Independence
The full 2021 season was a much-welcomed, somewhat return to normalcy after a pandemic-abbreviated 2020.
Juan Carlos Obregón, Jr. (aka J.C.) a Brooklyn-born Honduran international, found himself in Hartford, not too far from home. Despite the chaos of the world, it was a welcome return to the northeast after two seasons in south Texas with Rio Grande Valley FC Toros.
With Rio Grade Valley, then an affiliate of MLS side Houston Dynamo, Obregón hoped to earn a spot at the top level. He trained with, and appeared in a pre-season match with Dynamo, but the affiliation concluded at the end of the 2020 season.
A free agent, Obregón spent that off-season concentrating on Olympic qualifiers with Honduras. His team secured the qualification in a do-or-die victory over the United States, in which Obregón scored his side’s opening goal. Then he returned to the United States to find a new opportunity. With MLS rosters now closed, he found a home with Hartford Athletic.
“The people in the organization embraced me with open arms,” he said at the time, “and the fact that Connecticut is a two hour drive from home in Brooklyn allows me to see my family often.”
Obregón’s family was able to attend all of his Hartford matches. He responded to his homecoming with a career performance, putting up ten goals and two assists in league play. He would also represent Honduras in that Summer’s Tokyo Olympics, scoring an equalizer in an eventual 3-2 win over New Zealand. He calls this “one of the most satisfying moments” of his career.
After the 2022 campaign with Hartford, he was again a free agent, and signed with F.C. Motagua of the top-flight Liga Nacional in Honduras. He made seven appearances, and scored a goal in the first leg of the playoffs against Marathón.
After the season ended, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds called, in need of another forward to help augment some injuries. He joined the side in July 2023.
He made three starts with the Player’s Shield winners, spending most of his time there as a second-half bench option. He finished the season with three goals and an assist, but was not picked up for the 2024 season.
Onward to Charlotte
Image provided by Richard Hayes/RVAHub
USL League One side Charlotte Independence went through a bit of turnover in its forward corps in the 2023-2024 off-season. Dane Kelly did not return, and Khori Bennett signed as a free agent with Las Vegas Lights of USL Championship. The pair comprised Charlotte’s 2023 striker tandem, one of the most potent in the league, combining for 14 of the team’s 54 goals.
As the season approached, Charlotte did not appear to have a true striker, seemingly relying on veteran Gabriel Obertan. The big Frenchman, typically a winger or a midfielder, started at the top in a 2-1 opening loss to Knoxville. When the 35-year-old left the match with an injury, he was replaced by Kharlton Belmar, another veteran who typically plays on the wing.
Charlotte signed Obregón just four days later. The next day, he got the start in a first round US Open Cup matchup against amateur side Vereinigung Erzgebirge.
When Charlotte hosted Spokane a week later, he again got the start at striker, a role he has held ever since.
Obregón started his league play goal-scoring campaign against Greenville in on April 12th, a header from a Joel Johnson pass. The next week, he added a brace in a thrilling upset victory over USL Championship side Rhode Island FC in the third round of the US Open Cup. He would add another brace to his campaign in league play on May 3rd at Central Valley Fuego FC.
According to his teammates, he fit right in.
“J.C. is a beast,” said midfielder Omar Ciss after the win over Central Valley Fuego, “we trust him in any situation on the attacking side.”
“He’s a really hard working guy, and he deserves what he’s doing.”
As the presumed number one striker with Charlotte, Obregón may have finally found his footing in the American soccer world. Surrounded by some of the top talent in the league, such as Omar Ciss, Miguel Ibarra, Joel Johnson, Tresor Mbuyu and Gabriel Obertan, he’ll have no shortages of chances this season. So far, it has worked out, and he seems to be exactly what Charlotte needed after that first match.
“His work rate has been phenomenal,” said Charlotte head coach Mike Jeffries, “he’s found ways to get himself into every game.”
Midway through the 2024 season, Obregón is second in the league’s Golden Boot race with seven.
“He fits very well with the guys and has been a great addition to our group,” said Jeffries.