New York City FC begins the third and final leg of its inaugural preseason, landing in Charleston, S.C., for three matches as part of the 2015 Carolina Challenge Cup.
The trip holds extra significance for a few New York City FC members, specifically midfielder Sebastian Velasquez and assistant coach Rob Vartughian.
Born in Medellin, Colombia, Velasquez immigrated to the United States with his mother when he was 2 years old. He grew up in South Carolina.
The midfielder played his youth soccer for Carolina Elite and won the 2007 state championship at Greenville High School. Velasquez then had 55 goals and 33 assists in two seasons at Spartanburg Methodist College.
Velasquez was excited at Media Day on Wednesday, admitting he’s going to have a bunch of family and friends make the trek to Charleston while the Club is in town.
New York City FC plays fellow Major League Soccer expansion side Orlando City SC at 7:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, Houston Dynamo at 5 p.m. EST on Feb. 25 and concludes with Charleston Battery at 7:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 28.
Vartughian, the Club’s goalkeeper coach, played for Charleston Battery.
“The head coach of the team (Mike Anhaeuser) was an assistant when I was there,” Vartughian said. “There are a lot of familiar faces. They have a beautiful stadium. It’s a really cool place.”
While Velasquez and Vartughian are excited to return to familiar places from their past, Vartughian said it’s time to buckle down because the regular season opener on March 8 at Orlando City SC is quickly approaching.
“For us there’s a lot of important work left as we gear up for the opener,” he said. “It’s kind of the last phase of our preseason. We’re looking forward to getting down there.”
New York City FC had a pair of friendlies while in Manchester, England, for the second leg of preseason training. The Club beat St Mirren 2-0 on Feb. 10 and lost 2-0 to Brondby five days later.
Midfielder Andrew Jacobson relishes the opportunity to face new opposition in South Carolina, specifically a pair of MLS clubs.
“All the other games up until now, it’s different styles, you’re trying to get better, you’re trying to get fit, you’re trying to do a lot of things,” Jacobson said. “Going into this trip, playing some MLS teams, it gives us a chance to really focus because these are the teams we’re going to be battling with to win the MLS Cup. We are coming in with the mentality that we’re going to play well and we’re going to win these games.”
Traveling Roster
Goalkeepers: Akira Fitzgerald, Josh Saunders, Ryan Meara, Andre Rawls, Eirik Johansen^
Defenders: Andres Mendoza, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Jeb Brovsky, Josh Williams, Chris Wingert, Jason Hernandez, Shay Facey^, Connor Brandt
Midfielders: Andrew Jacobson, Mix, Ned Grabavoy, Thomas McNamara, Mehdi Ballouchy, Matt Dunn, Sebastian Velasquez, Javier Calle, Poku, Pablo Alvarez^
Forwards: David Villa, Patrick Mullins, Khiry Shelton, Adam Nemec, Tony Taylor
* Unsigned Draft Pick
^ Trialist
