FA Euro begins to look ahead to a fresh start under Academy CEO, and new head coach Ferdinando de Matthaeis. The PDL squad will be playing two of their seven home contests at Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John’s University in 2018. The other five games will be played in Brooklyn, closer to home at the Aviator Sports and Entertainment Complex in Marine Park.
Executive Director Marco Balsamo spoke to I-95 Sports Network about the teams move back to Brooklyn, “I think playing closer to home gives everyone a better opportunity to come and support the first team. When we first began playing in the PDL, Aviator was our home and was always a venue that brought us good fortune. Even way back when Joe [Balsamo] was the head coach of the Brooklyn Knights, Aviator served as one of our stomping grounds. While Belson will always be our second home for the club, we are excited to return to Brooklyn and hope for a good turnout.”
Beginning this season, the Long Island Rough Riders will be joining the Mid Atlantic Division substituting the Jersey Express Soccer club, who folded adult league operations at the end of the 2017 season.
FA Euro will begin their season and home schedule vs. Ocean City Nor’Easters for the second straight season at Belson Stadium on Saturday, May 12th at 7:00pm. Last season, the first team was shutout in their home opener by the same Nor’Easter club 1-0 by a lone goal from NCAA’s West Virginia Tech’s Francisco Neto. The first team will visit Ocean City, NJ for the third and final meeting of the 2018 season on Saturday June 30th at 7:00pm.
The first team and Head Coach de Matthaeis will be welcoming the Long Island Rough Riders for the first time since 2016 to Aviator Sports Complex on Tuesday, May 22nd and Wednesday, July 11th. Both contests are slated to kick off at 8:00pm. The PDL club is slated to play both top teams three times from a season ago in their respective divisions, New York Red Bulls and Long Island Rough Riders.
I-95 Sports sat down with the newly appointed Head Coach in Ferdinando de Matthaeis, “It’s a known fact that the PDL group from this part of the country is extremely competitive. At this level you always find the top two or three teams like New York [Red Bulls], Reading [United AC], Rough Riders [Long Island], etc. Our goal is to close the gap and to become a powerhouse. Our objective is to make the playoffs and hopefully get into the U.S. Open Cup.”
The FA Euro New York first team will close out the season on the road when they visit Leesburg, Virginia and the Evergreen FC at the Evergreen Sportsplex on Saturday, July 14th at 7:00pm. Last season, the PDL squad opened their season in the Mid-Atlantic Region with a goal each from LIU Post’s Johan Mauritzon and Jason Lampkin.
The remainder of the schedule is official via the USL PDL but are subject to change:
*5/12 vs. Ocean City Nor’Easters (Belson Stadium @ St. John’s University) --7:30pm
5/15 @ New York Red Bulls U23 (Red Bull Training Facility) --8:00pm
*5/22 vs. Long Island Rough Riders (Aviator Sports Complex)—8:00pm
5/26 @ Reading United AC (Gurski Stadium at Wilson High School)—7:00pm
5/29 @ New York Red Bulls U23 (Red Bull Training Facility)—8:00pm
*6/6 vs. Reading United AC (Aviator Sports Complex)—8:00pm
6/9 @ Lehigh Valley United (J. Birney Crum Stadium)—7:00pm
*6/16 @ Long Island Rough Riders (Hofstra University Soccer Stadium)—7:00pm
*6/22 vs. Evergreen FC (Aviator Sports Complex)—8:00pm
*6/26 vs. New York Red Bulls U23 (Belson Stadium @ St. John’s University)—7:30pm
6/30 @ Ocean City Nor’Easters (Carey Stadium)—7:00pm
*7/7 vs. Lehigh Valley United (Aviator Sports Complex)—7:00pm
*7/11 vs. Long Island Rough Riders (Aviator Sports Complex)—8:00pm
7/14 @ Evergreen FC (Evergreen Sportsplex)—7:00pm
Games to be aired on I-95 Sports and Entertainment Network (www.i95sportsnetwork.com)