Joshua Ryan Atencio ( ; born January 31, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids and the United States national team. He spent his first five professional seasons with Seattle Sounders FC from 2020 to 2024.
Career Atencio joined the Seattle Sounders FC academy in 2016. He made his debut for USL club Seattle Sounders FC 2 in August 2018. Atencio signed a professional contract for the 2019 season.
On June 15, 2020, Atencio signed a Homegrown Players contract with the Seattle Sounders. Since then he has played as a substitute and occasional starter, appearing in the majority of games in 2021 and 2022. On April 8, 2023, Atencio scored his first MLS goal, a long-distance strike in a 3–0 home victory over St. Louis City SC. He suffered an injury to his right adductor and spent several months recovering during the 2023 season, where he saw inconsistent playing time. By the end of the regular season, Atencio had returned to the starting lineup. He signed a four-year contract extension with the Sounders in January 2024.
In a February 15, 2025 transaction one week prior to the start of a new campaign, Atencio was acquired by the Colorado Rapids from the Sounders for $1.3 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) split evenly across two seasons and an additional $300,000 in conditional GAM based on performance."Colorado Rapids acquire midfielder Josh Atencio from Seattle Sounders FC," Colorado Rapids press release, Saturday, February 15, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
International career Born in the United States, Atencio is of Mexican descent. He is a youth international for the United States having played up to the United States U17s, and was called up to the United States U23s in November 2023.
Atencio made his debut for the senior United States national team on January 20, 2024, in a friendly against Slovenia.
He was selected as an alternate for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and played after Gianluca Busio was injured.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffsNational cupContinental OtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSeattle Sounders FC 22018USL21————21Tacoma Defiance2019USL251————2512020USL20————202021USL20————20Total312————312Seattle Sounders FC2020MLS50———1Appearance in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage0602021MLS24010——202702022MLS180—10——1902023MLS2214020—303112024MLS2202021—20281Total9117051—801112Tacoma Defiance2022MLS Next Pro70————702023MLS Next Pro71————71Total141————141Colorado Rapids2025MLS0000—00—00Career total1364705100801565
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsUnited States202410Total10
References
External links Josh Atencio at Seattle Sounders FC