New York City FC today announced the roster of New York City FC II for the upcoming MLS NEXT Pro season. New York City FC II kicked off its third season this past Sunday, March 17 against Inter Miami CF II at Chase Stadium.
Three midfielders, three defenders, three forwards, and one goalkeeper make up this year’s roster, including six players from the inaugural season. These players include Goalkeeper Kofi Hope-Gund, Defenders Klevis Haxhari, Samuel Owusu, Chris Tiao, Midfielders Stevo Bednarsky, Jacob Arroyave, and Piero Elias, and Forwards Ronald Arévalo, Jonathan Jiménez, Taylor Calheira.
Like last season, all players but one signed to New York City FC II are local to the Tri-State area with five players coming from New York, three representing New Jersey, one player from Connecticut, and one from Baltimore. In addition, all players signed to First Team contracts are eligible to play for New York City FC II.
New York City FC II will play 28 in-conference matches as they enter their third year in the MLS NEXT Pro across 30 weeks, including 14 at home and 14 on the road. They will face their opponents three times, which will foster more regional rivalries between the clubs, and there will be no cross-conference play. The team's home opener is on Wednesday, March 27, at 7:30pm ET at Belson Stadium in Queens, NY against Chattanooga FC who are embarking on their maiden season in MLS Next Pro and are one of the two new independent clubs to join the league.
To stay up to date on all things New York City FC II, visit NYCFC.com/NYCFCII.
Player | Position | Hometown
Kofi Hope-Gund | Goalkeeper | Manhattan, NY
Klevis Haxhari | Defender | Bronx, NY
Samuel Kwaku Owusu | Defender | Yonkers, NY
Chris Tiao | Defender | Randolph, NJ
Piero Elias | Midfielder | Queens, NY
Stevo Bednarsky | Midfielder | Chester, NJ
Jacob Arroyave | Midfielder | Passaic, NJ
Jonathan Jiménez | Forward | Norwalk, CT
Ronald Arévalo | Forward | North Bergan, NY
Taylor Calheria | Forward | Baltimore
Player Bios
Kofi Hope-Gund | Goalkeeper | Manhattan, NY
Since 2017 to 2021, Kofi played with Amherst Men's Soccer. With Amherst, Kofi played a total of 45 games, logged in 3,738 minutes, allowed 26 goals, saved 131 goals (0.834 SV%), won 26 games, lost five, and tied seven.
Klevis Haxhari | Defender | Bronx, NY
The Bronx-born defender enjoyed a year to remember in 2022, having made the step up from the Academy to NYCFC II, as the first Academy player to have signed a professional contract with the MLS NEXT Pro side. The youngster had been included in the 2022 First Team Preseason roster and went on to shine for NYCFC II, playing seven times, showcasing his strength, bravery, and impressive understanding of the game. Representing the Albanian U-19 National Team, he featured in the UEFA Championship qualifiers in September.
Samuel Kwaku Owusu | Defender | Yonkers, NY
He was a member of the U-16 GA Cup and U-18/19 Development Academy Championship teams. Originally from Ghana, the defender joined NYCFC in the fall of 2016 and attended Riverside High School in Yonkers, NY. Samuel Owusu scored his first goal with New York City FC II on September 14, 2022 against FC Cincinnati 2, which resulted in a 4-0 win for 'the Boys in Blue.' Owusu totals three goals and five assists with the Club. Last season he contributed to more goals and assists, totaling two goals and three assists.
Chris Tiao | Defender | Randolph, NJ
Prior to joining New York City FC II, Defender Chris Tiao played with Rutgers where he concluded the 2022 season with 21 appearances and 17 starts. On November 9th, in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals against No. 16 Ohio State he scored the game-winning goal. In 2021, he played in 17 matches with 14 starts for a defense with seven shutouts and a 1.02 goals-against average. He also led the defense to posting four consecutive shutouts to start a season at Rutgers for the first time since the 1990 NCAA Championships runner-up team. Prior to Rutgers he made his USL debut with Red Bulls II in May 2019 and was a Generation Adidas Cup U17 Finalist in 2017. Additionally, in 2016 he was a USA National Champion for the Generation Cup 5x5 and in 2015 he was the New Jersey State Soccer Champion.
Piero Elias | Midfielder | Queens, NY
Before signing with NYCFC Piero played for USL side Queensboro FC where he had six goals and four assists in six games played. He scored his first goal with NYCFC II versus Toronto FC II in the 81st minute. He scored the goal with his left foot from a difficult angle on the left to the center of the goal. Also, he provided his first assist versus Inter Miami II to Stephen Turnbull in the 56th minute, followed by another in the 59th to Massimo Murania Yankowitz and in the 89th minute to Juilán Gómez.
Stevo Bednarsky | Midfielder | Chester, NJ
Bednarsky attended Lehigh University where he was named All-Patriot League third team his freshman year where he started in all 15 of his appearances. In 2019 he scored 2 goals and had an assist in 20 starts as a midfielder and was selected as an All-Patriot league first team and an All-Atlantic Region second team. He provided his first assist with NYCFC II versus Toronto FC II in the 56th minute to Jack Beer on August 10th, 2022. He then followed up with another assist August 16th, 2022 concluding with two assists in total for that season. In 2023, Bednarsky concluded the season with 24 games played, 1548 minutes and one assist.
Jacob Arroyave | Midfielder | Passaic, NJ
The Passaic, New Jersey native began his youth career with Cedar Stars Bergen, quickly impressing and solidifying his status as an exciting prospect. On August 10th, Jacob made his MLS NEXT Pro debut with New York City Football Club II as he came in to replace Jack Beer in the 71st minute. Arroyave concludes the 2022 and 2023 season with three games played and logging in 95 minutes.
Jonathan Jiménez | Forward | Norwalk, CT
Born in Jiquilpan Michoacàn, Mexico, and grew up in Norwalk, CT. Jimenez started his career at NYCFC Academy in 2017 and was vital in the team’s back-to-back U18/19 Development Academy Championships, scoring in the 2019 final. In 2021, the forward played 18 games for the University of North Carolina, tallying one goal and two assists, finishing third on the team in shots. He scored his first goal with NYCFC II versus Inter Miami II in the 90’ + 2’ minute. The goal was scored with his right foot from the center of the box to the high center of the goal. He ended the 2022 MLS Next Pro regular season with 1,551 minutes, ten goals, two assists, 34 shots (22 on target), and a passing accuracy of 77.7%. He then followed that season contributing eight goals and five assists in the 2023 season. The 2023 season marked the most goal contributions in his career (13).
Ronald Arévalo | Forward | North Bergan, NY
Arévalo started his career with American fourth-tier side Cedar Stars Rush. In 2021, he signed for HB Køge in the Danish second tier. Before the 2022 season, Arévalo signed for Finnish third-tier club OTP. In 2022, he signed for NYCFC II in the American third tier. In the 2022 MLS NEXT PRO Regular Season, he played a total of 49 minutes, had a passing accuracy of 68.8, and one interception. The 2024 season was proven to be more successful for Arévalo as he concluded the season with 24 games played, 12 starts, 1079 minutes, six goals, and four assists. He also finished the season with the third most goals on the team and the fifth most assists. This season, Arévalo will look to continue his success with the Club.
Taylor Calheria | Forward | Baltimore
With the 66th overall pick in the Third Round the ‘Boys in Blue’ acquired Forward Taylor Calheira from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Scoring 32 goals and tallying 16 assists in 61 appearances, the Forward finished his Retrievers career eighth on the all-time scoring list. Calheira won back-to-back American East Striker of the Year honors becoming only one of four players to bring home the accolade in successive seasons. To finish his collegiate career, the 21-year-old Forward became the first player since 2013 to be awarded American East First Team honors three years in a row. Calheira became the 24th player selected in the SuperDraft in Club history.
