New York City FC’s travelling party for preseason has been confirmed.
31 players have initially traveled to Jacksonville for the first leg of preseason – a number which is comprised of established fan favorites, new signings, academy players, unsigned MLS SuperDraft picks and trialists.
Five Academy players will join the first-team on preseason for the first time, including Joe Scally, Tyler Shaver, Justin Haak, Dante Polvara and Gio Reyna, while MLS SuperDraft picks Jeff Caldwell, AJ Paterson and Alex Bumpus also make the trip.
New offseason signings Saad Abdul-Salaam, Brad Stuver and Jesus Medina will all be present for this first stage of preparations for City’s fourth MLS season, while other international additions like Cedric Hountondji, Ismael Tajouri and Jo Inge Berget are expected to join later, subject to P1 Visas and ITC.
Head Coach Patrick Vieira will lead the squad for his third season in charge and he’s already eagerly anticipating the challenges that lie ahead.
Vieira told NYCFC.com: “I’m really excited, I can’t wait to start because when you look at the last two years we’ve improved as a team each season.
“In the first season, we reached the Playoffs and finished fourth overall and last year we finished second overall when you put the East and West together.
“If you look at the way we played against Columbus in the Playoffs, I think we showed we can compete against those teams. We are really close to getting there and I think it’s important now for us to keep believing in what we’re doing and to keep working hard.
“The football club and the team is progressing and that is really interesting to me.”
NYCFC will face Jacksonville University, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Atletico de San Luis, Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact over the course of the next six weeks.
You can follow every stage of New York City FC’s preseason on NYCFC.com, on Twitter, on Instagram and on Facebook.
RELATED:NYCFC's Full Preseason Schedule Revealed
Goalkeepers: Andre Rawls, Jeff Caldwell^, Sean Johnson, Brad Stuver
Defenders: Anton Tinnerholm, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Joe Scally^^, Maxime Chanot, Sebastien Ibeagha, Ryan Felix, Tyler Shaver^^, Ronald Matarrita, Ben Sweat, AJ Paterson^, Alex Bumpus^, Alex Callens
Midfielders: Alex Ring, James Sands, Yangel Herrera, Tommy McNamara, Kwame Awuah, Maxi Moralez, Justin Haak^^, Dante Polvara^^, Gio Reyna^^
Forwards: Jack Harrison, Jonathan Lewis, David Villa, Rodney Wallace, Jesus Medina, Andre Fortune
^ Unsigned 2018 MLS SuperDraft pick
Trialist
^^ Academy Player
