Special seasons are made by people like Hugo Garrote. Just four short years ago, Garrote followed a dream that would lead from his hometown of Jerez De La Frontera, Spain, to the United States, where he began life as a collegiate student-athlete. When the time came to make his next move, Garrote became convinced that he could have everything he wanted in small town Nebraska: high level competition, a tremendous educational experience and everlasting relationships.
On a mid-November day, while still hopeful his college soccer career may be extended by an at-large national tournament bid, Garrote stopped to reflect. In the fall of 2024, Garrote took advantage of an opportunity to reconnect with childhood friend Manuel “Manu” Rodriguez, a member of the Concordia Tennis program.
Garrote recalls asking Manu, “What are you doing there? It’s a small town. There’s nothing there.” Manu set the record straight.
As Garrote remembers, “He told me I would see that I could have fun here. We have really good facilities, and honestly, people here are very nice compared to New York. When I met the guys on the team, I felt like I could really bond with them and build good relationships and friendships. I like everything about it. Seward is a small town, but you can have a good life here.”
It took some getting used to for Garrote, whose hometown Jerez De La Frontera is populated by more than 200,000 people. An agency first helped Garrote find a landing spot at Monroe College (now Monroe University) in New Rochelle, Yew York, just 17 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. Such experiences would differ significantly than life at Concordia, which was once known as “The College in the Cornfields.”
Little did Garrote know what was about to happen, like GPAC championship celebrations in back-to-back years, the first national tournament advancement in program history and the 2026 GPAC Player of the Year award. In Concordia University, Nebraska Men’s Soccer program history, only Garrote and first-year Head Coach Bernie Ochoa have ever been named the conference overall player of the year.
Says Ochoa, “It's definitely been an honor to be his coach. He's just a great overall person. Besides being a good player, his leadership and what he does on a day-to-day basis really stand out. I don't think he's necessarily a vocal leader. He's more of a leader by example, and that's what he's done from day one, not only with the team but with me as a coach.”
Soft spoken off the pitch, Garrote allows his actions to speak loudly. There isn’t a more dangerous player in the conference on set pieces. Case in point: with a powerful swing of his right leg, Garrote lasered the ball into the back of the net for an overtime golden goal to sink rival Hastings in the 2025 GPAC quarterfinals. More than just the big moments, Garrote has supplied consistently stellar play in the middle of the park. His efforts in winning possession and applying pressure on opponents have helped lead to a program record 61 goals as a team this fall.
Garrote embraced the mantra and style preferred by Ochoa: “We’ll press you into the locker room.” The most dominant conference regular season ever put together by the Bulldogs was the result of a process and program buildup initiated by 18-year Head Coach Jason Weides (now the women’s program head coach). Garrote recognized the talent and the potential when he arrived.
Says Garrote, “When I came here and practiced with the team, I had an idea in my mind that maybe the level would be lower than at Monroe because, to be honest, the level there was pretty good. But I was actually surprised by how good the team was, both then and in the three teams I've been part of since arriving. I thought I could play an important role, but I was still surprised by the level of the rest of the team.”
Garrote began building a foundation for his current success at a young age. As he recalls, Garrote started playing soccer and tennis at four years old. It wasn’t long before the son of Carlos Garrote and Yolanda Gago gave up tennis to focus his athletic pursuits solely upon soccer. Garrote was educated at Colegio Nuestra Senora Del Pilar in his hometown.
Garrote was ready for the next big challenge. With close friend Manuel Rodriguez having already ventured to the United States, Garrote mapped out a plan of his own. A recruiting agency helped Garrote identify a couple of potential options. He chose Monroe, a junior college that would become his home for two years. He left with an associate’s degree in business management.
Before departing, Garrote already knew where he was headed. While visiting Manu in Seward, Garrote was persuaded to take part in a tryout with Weides and the team. As Garrote revealed, “It was funny because I came to Seward to visit my friend without really thinking about coming to Concordia to play soccer.”
Each year, Garrote has improved while strengthening relationships with teammates. Outside of soccer, Garrote works at the on-campus Dog House Grill, which has become a popular place of employment for Concordia’s international athletes. Garrote also got connected with the job opportunity thanks to Manu. In his personal life, Garrote spends plenty of time with teammates that hail from nine different countries.
“That's one of the best things about this experience of coming to the United States,” Garrote said. “New York is a big city with many different nationalities, but even here on the team, we have people from all over the world. We had Adrian (Wambua) from Kenya, Koko (Kondwani Mtawali) from Malawi and guys from Europe. We have people from almost every part of the world. I really enjoy being able to build those kinds of relationships that I honestly wouldn't have had in Spain. I really enjoy meeting all these guys.”
On the field, Garrote progressively grew into the top player in the GPAC. In his first season at Concordia, Garrote notched one goal and three assists in 18 games (11 starts) before boosting his offensive production to three goals in four assists in 2025 (22 games) and then to seven goals and six assists in 2026 (18 games). Of course, those basic statistics can’t measure the totality of Garrote’s impact upon the team’s success.
As Ochoa explained in reaction to Garrote earning GPAC Player of the Year selection, “It shows his hard work and what he's accomplished over the years to get to where he is now. I'm grateful to have him finishing out his career with us. Day in and day out, what he does in training, outside of training and in our game performances has been outstanding. He's been a vital piece of our team, obviously with our set pieces, but also with our overall attacking game. Being able to play through him in the midfield was something we did a lot this year, and he stepped up for us in each and every game.”
In return, Garrote offers plenty of respect for the first-year collegiate coach. Back in March, Garrote and his teammates were called into a meeting room. They noticed someone they hadn’t recognized sitting down at the front of the room. It turned out to be the team’s new head coach, Bernie Ochoa. The ability for Ochoa to speak Spanish with players such as Garrote added another element of comfortability.
Back in Spain, Garrote’s family members keep tabs by watching online and by following the @cunebulldogs social media channels. Hugo says that he gets frequent check-in calls from his mother. Added Garrote, “They're following Concordia and staying aware of what's going on here.”
Someday soon, Garrote will put a business administration degree to use, perhaps in his home country. He would like to pursue all avenues to continue playing soccer. Those details are still being worked out.
On this particular day in November, Garrote just wants to know whether he gets to keep wearing the Concordia Bulldog kit. He’s confident that Concordia can carry over its GPAC dominance onto the national stage. Says Garrote, “If they give us the chance, we’ll take it and go all the way to the final site.”
It would be one more leg on an already memorable collegiate journey for Garrote. No matter the destination, Concordia and Seward will remain close to his heart.