by Mike Woitalla @MikeWoitalla, Aug 17, 2017

, a 17-year-old Northern California product who moved to Mexico in 2014, started and played the full 90 minutes in Pachuca’s 1-0 Copa MX win at Querétaro. It marked his debut for Pachuca’s first team in a competitive game.

Lara played for the U.S. U-17 national team before moving to Pachuca and switching to Mexico, for which he played at the 2015 U-17 World Cup.

The left-footed outside back was part of Pachuca’s U-20 Mexican league national championship team last year and was named to The Guardian's Next Generation 2016, a list of 60 top young international players.

Lara grew up in San Leandro, California and played for the Hayward Tecos before joining the Juventus Sport Club. He also had stints with the San Jose Earthquakes and the De Anza Force before joining Pachuca.