Missing Cal soccer player Eloi Vasquez found dead, killed on L.A. freeway

The American soccer community is growing but remains a tight-knit one despite the gains the sport has made over the last two World Cups and the ongoing expansion of Major League Soccer. So when tragedy strikes soccer's small circle in the United States, everyone feels the pain.

That was the unfortunate circumstance on Monday when the body of Cal soccer player Eloi Vasquez was found near the USC campus after the 19-year-old freshman went missing early Saturday morning. Vasquez's family confirmed that he had been found dead over the weekend after apparently being struck by a car.

"We're devastated, such a loss of life," Vasquez's aunt, Beth Crespan, told the Bay Area News Group. "He had such a future ahead of him. It's the worst outcome imaginable."

A Los Angeles television station reported that Vasquez died on the 10 Freeway not far from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house where he told friends he was going for a walk at around 1:30 a.m. The California Highway Patrol said that Vasquez ran across the freeway's eastbound lanes and was struck by a car going 60 mph just before 2:30 a.m.

Teammates and classmates took to social media to express sorrow over the devastating news. Vasquez's family and friends were also in the thoughts and prayers of the professional ranks in the U.S., including former Cal stars Alex Morgan and Steve Birnbaum.