Mar. 1, 2021
21 rostered players as well as two unsigned draft picks and three invited training camp attendees set to report for preseason at Fairmont Austin and St. Edward’s University on Monday, March 8; Team scheduled to permanently relocate to St. David’s Performance Center in Spring 2021; Austin FC and St. Edwards University also confirm The Austin FC Endowed Scholarship, benefiting St. Edward’s students
AUSTIN, Texas (March 1, 2021) - Austin FC, the 27th club in Major League Soccer (MLS), announced today that its official 2021 preseason, presented by St. David’s HealthCare, will officially begin on Monday, March 8, at Fairmont Austin and St. Edward’s University in Austin. The sites will host Austin FC’s first team before permanently relocating to St. David’s Performance Center, Austin FC’s $45 million, state-of-the-art training facility in North Austin in Spring 2021. Optional training sessions will be available to Austin FC first team players, draft picks and training camp attendees from March 1 to March 7, while adhering to MLS quarantine protocols.
“We are very excited to start our first preseason as an MLS club,” commented Josh Wolff, Austin FC Head Coach. “The organization has worked tirelessly for over two years for this moment, and we look forward to officially starting this project and getting our players and staff on the field.”
A group that presently consists of 21 rostered players, two (2) unsigned draft picks and three (3) training camp attendees will report for six (6) weeks of preseason training and preseason competitions, playing a series of closed-door scrimmages and matches before the Club embarks upon its inaugural MLS season. The series of preseason scrimmages and matches will begin with two (2) closed-door scrimmages at St. Edward’s University against USL teams OKC Energy (March 19) and Louisville City FC (March 25). Fans and media are unable to attend closed-door scrimmages and preseason matches due to preseason COVID-19 protocols.
Austin FC has officially partnered with St. Edward’s as the Club’s temporary training facility while development concludes on the St. David’s Performance Center. As part of the agreement, current St. Edward’s students will also benefit from this partnership through the Austin FC Endowed Scholarship. In perpetuity, this fund will provide generous support for NCAA Division II student-athletes, providing talented students with critical financial support to achieve their dreams.
“Austin FC will be a major asset for the city, and we are honored to partner with them,” said Joe DeMedeiros, Vice President for University Advancement. “In addition, their thoughtful philanthropy to St. Edward’s University will change the lives of Austin FC Scholars through access to our values-based education. We are very grateful to count their scholarship as one of 131 new endowments established at St. Edward's since 1999, all for the benefit of young learners."
Austin FC rostered players reporting for preseason include goalkeepers Brady Scott, Brad Stuver and Andrew Tarbell; defenders Matt Besler, Julio Cascante, Hector Jimenez, Freddy Kleemann, Nick Lima, Jhohan Romaña and Ben Sweat; midfielders Diego Fagundez, Daniel Pereira, Alex Ring, Ulises Segura and Jared Stroud; and forwards Cecilio Domínguez, Jon Gallagher, Danny Hoesen, Kekuta Manneh, Rodney Redes and Aaron Schoenfeld. Tomás Pochettino will join the roster upon completion of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
Austin FC 2021 SuperDraft picks, defender Aedan Stanley and midfielder Daniel Steedman, will be invited to participate in the Club’s inaugural preseason camp. In addition to the rostered players and SuperDraft selections, three (3) training camp attendees have also been invited to participate in preseason, including goalkeeper William Pulisic, defender Samuel Rogers and midfielder Luis Argudo.
Austin FC will announce details related to three (3) additional preseason matches that are scheduled to be played in April, prior the start of the 2021 MLS regular season. Austin FC and MLS will announce the complete 2021 regular season schedule in the coming weeks.
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NOTE: All Austin FC training sessions and scrimmages at St. Edward’s University and St. David’s Performance Center are closed-door events, conducted under strict COVID protocols. No media attendance is allowed at any session. Austin FC will be making video and photography assets from the sessions available to media. For more information, please contact Mauricio Villarreal.
About Austin FC
Austin FC joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as the 27th club in January 2019. Austin FC will officially begin play in 2021 in the new, 100% privately financed, $260 million, state-of-the-art Q2 Stadium in Austin.
About St. Edward’s University
St. Edward’s University is a private, liberal arts university in the Catholic, Holy Cross tradition with approximately 4,000 students. Located in Austin, Texas, it is one of the top universities in Texas and offers more than 50 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs. With a network of partner universities around the world, St. Edward’s delivers a premier, highly personalized education that helps students explore their own transformational pathways to knowledge, experience, understanding and success. St. Edward’s has been recognized for 18 consecutive years as one of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report and holds the #8 spot among Best Regional Universities in the West in the U.S. News 2020 and 2021 rankings. For more information on St. Edward’s, visit stedwards.edu/about.