A native of Powder Springs, Ga., Andrew Carleton became Atlanta’s first Homegrown Player on June 9, 2016. Carleton made his MLS debut at age 16 against Houston Dynamo on May 20, 2017. He earned more playing time in his second professional season, including his first career start in an MLS match on July 21 against DC United. He earned another start on October 21 vs. Chicago Fire. The midfielder scored goals in the US Open Cup and with Atlanta United 2 in USL in 2018. At the youth level, Carleton began playing with his home club Georgia United Soccer Alliance, now the Atlanta United Academy. He has represented the U.S. National Team on multiple youth levels and started all five games for the U.S. U-17 squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
2019 (Atlanta United): Featured in three MLS games, all as a second half substitute under new head coach Frank de Boer. His most extensive playing time in the league came on March 30 in a 2-0 loss at Columbus. He finished the season with one shot. US Open Cup: Carleton started in the opening round of the US Open Cup, a 3-1 victory in extra time against Charleston Battery. In the next round, the midfielder came off the bench as ATL UTD won 3-2 at Columbus to advance. Atlanta United went on to claim its first-ever Open Cup title later in 2019. USL: The attacking midfielder had his best attacking output during the 2019 USL Championship season. He started 14 of 15 matches and finished the campaign with five goals and three assists. Three of his five goals proved to be game-winning goals. He recorded his first professional brace on Sept. 7 in a 3-2 victory against Ottawa Fury FC. The midfielder’s final goal of the season came on Sept. 25 in a 2-1 win against USL Championship semifinalists Indy Eleven.
2018 (Atlanta United): Appeared in a career-high seven matches for Atlanta, including the first two starts of his MLS career. Carleton collected his first career assist on March 17 after being subbed on against Vancouver. His floating cross to the far post was headed in by Josef Martinez for the final goal in a 4-1 victory. The Powder Springs native finished the season with five shots and 161 minutes played in MLS. US Open Cup: Carleton played in both US Open Cup matches for Atlanta United and scored the game-winning goal in the 3-0 victory against Charleston Battery. He was a second half substitute against the Chicago Fire. USL: The attacking midfielder started 13 of his 14 matches with Atlanta United 2 during the team’s inaugural season. He scored two goals and added two assists. He scored the game-winning goal at Penn FC on September 8 in a 2-1 win, then delivered both assists in a 2-1 victory against Charleston Battery to close out the season.
2017 (Atlanta United): Made his first team debut in the 86th minute of 4-1 against Houston on May 20. US Open Cup: Started and went 90 minutes at Miami FC on June 28, where he took a team-high six shots and drew a penalty. U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Carleton helped lead the Atlanta United U15/U16’s to a national championship, scoring four goals in three tournament games, including both goals in the final to lead Atlanta past reigning champion FC Dallas 2-1.
2016 (Charleston): Carleton spent the 2016 season on loan with the Charleston Battery in the USL with teammates Alexander Tambakis and Chris Goslin. The 16-year old made four appearances between USL league play and the playoffs, totaling one assist and five shots, one on goal.
2015-2016 (Georgia United U17-18): Carleton scored eight goals and registered four assists in 15 games, 11 starts.
INTERNATIONAL: He has featured with the U.S. Youth National Team beginning at the U-15 level. He represented the U-17 National Team at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India, helping to lead the team to the quarterfinals of the tournament. He started all five games and recorded two goals and three assists. Carleton scored a goal in the U.S.’ 3-0 win over India and tallied a goal and two assists in a 5-0 victory over Paraguay that sent the U.S. to the quarterfinals. During his time with the U-15 National Team, Carleton scored seven goals in five matches at the 2015 Tournament delle Nazioni. In 2016, he scored 15 goals for the U-17 squad. Carleton netted a brace in three consecutive games against Jamaica (Nov. 6), Portugal (Nov. 30) and Turkey (Dec. 2).
