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On Thursday night, Marquette men's soccer coach Louis Bennett took to Twitter to make an announcement about his team's roster.
MSOC Jose 'Coco' Navarro leaves Marquette & turns pro being one of the first players signed by MLS RealSaltLake affiliate Real Monarchs.
— Louis Bennett (@Loobe21) January 30, 2015
Navarro, a 5'7" forward, played two seasons at Marquette, totaling five goals and six assists in 39 matches. Navarro was an impact player for Marquette as soon as he arrived, immediately entering the starting eleven and only missing the starting lineup once in his MU career. One of his three goals in his freshman campaign was the brilliant volley of a Paul Dillon cross that earned the Golden Eagles their first ever NCAA tournament win in a second round match against Akron.
Real Monarchs will be competing in the USL Pro league, which is the third tier of American soccer behind both Major League Soccer and the North American Soccer League. The Monarchs will be one of seven Major League Soccer affiliate programs joining USL Pro this season. It's no surprise that Real Salt Lake would have an interest in bringing Navarro in as a member of their feeder team, as he came up through the Arizona branch of the RSL academy system.
Navarro's departure leaves Marquette returning just seven men from their opening day lineup in 2014.