Tacoma Defiance announced on Wednesday the signing of two new midfielders, Jared Ríos and Matthew Bell. Ríos, 21, joins from Costa Rican side AD Municipal Liberia, where he’s played since turning pro in January 2025, while Bell was most recently with Portmore United in Jamaica but has taken a more circuitous route to reach this particular opportunity.
Defiance head coach Paulo Nagamura described Ríos as “a box-to-box midfielder, ball winner and a dynamic prospect that can help us solidify our midfield.” Based on that description, limited footage, and other information available, it’s not difficult to see where Ríos fits into the current squad. He’ll provide an option in midfield that lies somewhere between Mark O’Neill and Xavi Gnaulati, a more natural part of a two-man midfield with a game that should allow him to operate as a partner for either of those two players. Alongside O’Neill he can be the water carrier responsible for more of the distribution, while when played with someone like Gnaulati or Danny Robles he can take up a more disruptive role, focused on helping to win the ball back.
Bell is a 23 year-old from Kingston, Jamaica who turns 24 next month. Although he’s been described by Nagamura as “a creative attacking midfielder that can create chances and impact games with his skillset,” that description is a usefully broad one. It’s hard to know exactly how he was being used with Portmore United, but before his move back to Jamaica he had primarily played as a forward with stints as a wide attacking player. After two years of college ball at Marshall University, where he had 20 goals and 16 assists in 39 games, all of them starts, he was selected by Real Salt Lake with the 16th pick of the 2024 SuperDraft. He made a single appearance for RSL’s first team, but spent two stretches with Real Monarchs broken up by a loan to USL Championship side FC Tulsa. During his first run with Real Monarchs, Bell had 4 goals and 1 assist in 1,325 minutes, including a goal against Defiance. His partial second season with the club only consisted of 5 games and 78 minutes in 2025, but did include an assist against Defiance. In his time at Marshall and with Real Monarchs he showed an ability to find himself in the right spot to finish off plays, along with an ability to create chances for his teammates. With Defiance he’ll offer an intriguing alternative to Mark Bronnik up top, or as one of the wide attackers in the team’s 3-4-3.
It’s unclear when exactly the two players will join Defiance, but Ríos will at least be unavailable until the conclusion of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games, where he is playing with Costa Rica’s national team. Costa Rica play Cuba on July 30, Panama on August 1, and Colombia on August 3 in the group stage with semifinals on August 5 and the finals on August 7.
