Yutaro Tsukada

Yutaro Tsukada (塚田裕太郎, Tsukada Yutaro, born 28 July 2001) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club Orlando City.

Early life

Tsukada was born in Tokyo, Japan. He played youth football with FC Tokyo.

College career

Daytona State College

In 2020, Tsukada began attending Daytona State College. On 11 September 2021, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory over the Georgia Military College Bulldogs. At the end of his sophomore season, he was named to the USC First Team All-America, the NJCAA DI All-American Team, Junior College Division I Men All-East Region, and the Region 8 All-Region Team and the Region 8 Player of the Year. He departed the school holding 6 school records - most goals in a season (20), most goals in 2 seasons (26), most hat tricks (4), fastest goal in school history (32 seconds), most free kicks scored (4), and most points (63).

West Virginia University

In 2022, he transferred to West Virginia University to play for the men's soccer team in NCAA Division I. He made his debut on August 25 against the Robert Morris Colonials. On October 11, 2022, he scored his first goal in a victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. In October 2023, he was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week and the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week, and earned WVU Student-Athlete of the Week honors a second time in November. At the end of his senior season, he was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team, All-Southeast Region First Team, Scholar All-South Region First Team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team, All-America Third Team, and the College Soccer News All-America Second Team.

Club career

New Mexico United U23

In 2022, Tsukada joined New Mexico United U23, the development team of USL Championship team New Mexico United, in USL League Two. On 26 May, Tsukada made his debut for the club and scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against the Colorado International Soccer Academy. Tsukada made four appearances for the team and scored three goals.

Capital FC

In 2023, he joined Capital FC in their inaugural season in USL League Two after the team had severed ties with the Portland Timbers. On 28 May, Tsukada his first goal for the club, the equalizing goal of a 3–1 win at PDX FC. Tsukada would score five goals for the club.

Orlando City B

At the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Tsukada was selected in the first round (25th overall) by Orlando City. In March 2024, he signed a one-year contract with the reserve affiliate, Orlando City B, in MLS Next Pro. On 16 March, he made his professional debut, scoring a free kick in a 3–2 victory over Atlanta United 2. Tsukada would score seven goals and assist in seven more, totaling 14 goal contributions, the second most for the team behind Alex Freeman.

Orlando City

In May 2024, Tsukada signed two short-term loans with the first team. He made his Major League Soccer debut on 15 May in a substitute appearance against Inter Miami. On 15 August, Tsukada signed a contract with the first team through 2025, with club options in 2026 and 2027.

On 8 February 2025, during a pre-season friendly against CF Montréal, Tsukada suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. On 25 February, it was announced by the club that Tsukada had undergone a successful surgery to reconstruct the ligament and that he was placed onto the season ending injury list.