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Austin FC Announces Preston Burpo as Goalkeeper Coach

February 22, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Austin FC News Release


Austin, Texas ‚ - ‚ Austin FC, the 27th club in Major League Soccer (MLS), announced today that Preston Burpo will join the Club as Goalkeeper Coach for the first team ahead of its inaugural 2021 season. Sam Lawson arrives from Minnesota United FC as Video Performance Analyst. Gaston Delgado, previously on the Club's commercial team, has become Player Care Coordinator. Assistant Equipment Manager and Player Support Coordinator Rodrigo Ayala joins the Club from New York City FC, and Academy Athletic Trainer Raiza Aguilar joins Austin FC Academy after working as Head Athletic Trainer for USL side Austin Bold.

"Preston's arrival represents a tremendous addition to the coaching staff, bringing a wealth of playing and MLS coaching experience to the Club," commented Josh Wolff, Austin FC Head Coach. "We also extend a warm welcome to Sam, Gaston, Rodrigo and Raiza as they join our Soccer Operations and Academy teams. We are pleased to add talented and qualified personnel to our growing staff."

"The latest appointments to our coaching staff and Academy bring significant soccer experience at various levels to the Club and we are confident they will play an important role in their respective areas," commented Claudio Reyna, Austin FC Sporting Director. "We are delighted to see the commitment of the Club in bringing in knowledgeable and hard-working professionals ahead of our inaugural season."

Burpo's coaching career spans over nine (9) years, spending the last five (5) seasons (2016-20) as a Goalkeeper Coach with the New York Red Bulls and the 2013-14 seasons with D.C. United where he coached 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Bill Hamid. The native of Bethesda, Md. started his coaching career in 2012 with Club de Foot Montréal.

As a player, Burpo logged 57 MLS career appearances, including 11 matches (11 starts) with the New England Revolution (2010), 24 matches (24 starts) with the Colorado Rapids (2008-09), and 22 matches (22 starts) with Chivas USA (2006-07). Prior to MLS, Burpo played nine (9) seasons with Seattle Sounders FC, then in the USL.

Lawson spent the 2018-20 seasons with Minnesota United FC as a Video Analyst as part of the team that made back-to-back MLS Playoffs appearances (2018-19) and reached the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. He earned a Master of Education and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Sports Psychology from the University of Missouri (2013).

Gaston Delgado joined Austin FC in June 2019 as a Season Memberships Account Executive and recently transitioned to the Player Care Coordinator role with Austin FC's Soccer Operations team. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Minor in Health from Sam Houston State (2016) where he was also Vice President of The Sam Houston State Men's Club Soccer Team. Player Support Coordinator Rodrigo Ayala joins Austin FC from New York City FC, where he was the Club's Equipment & Player Support Lead (2019-20) and Equipment Coordinator (2015-19). Ayala attended Westchester Community College and earned an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts and Social Science (2014).

Raiza Aguilar arrives to Austin FC from USL side Austin Bold, where she spent two (2) seasons as a Head Athletic Trainer (2019-20). She also spent two (2) years as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at Concordia University Texas in Austin (2016-18). Aguilar received a Master of Education and Sports Administration from Concordia University (2018).

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