
Hartford Athletic head coach Jimmy Nielsen. (Hartford Athletic)
This particularly long-awaited opportunity arrived for Mac Steeves in cruel and rather unexpected fashion.
The former Providence College standout forward saw his rookie season with MLS side Houston Dynamo cut short by a hip injury last May. He missed the second half of the campaign after undergoing bilateral hip reconstruction surgery in July. The setback prompted the Dynamo to decline the team-held option on his contract for the 2019 season.
Even though Houston offered Steeves a contract with its USL Championship side Rio Grande Valley FC Toros for 2019, he kept his choices open. He reached out through his own connections and trusted his agent to survey all of the potential options.