MLS NEXT Pro New York City FC II

New York City Football Club Announces Players Signed to NYCFC II Contracts for Upcoming MLS NEXT Pro Season

Published on March 31, 2023 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
New York City FC II News Release


New York City Football Club (NYCFC) today announced the roster of NYCFC II for the upcoming MLS NEXT Pro season. NYCFC II is set to kick off its second season this Sunday, April 2 at 8pm ET against New England Revolution II at Gillette Stadium.

Five midfielders, four defenders, two forwards, and two goalkeepers make up this year's roster, including seven players from the inaugural season opening day roster. Like last season, all players signed to NYCFC II are local to the Tri-State area with eight players coming from New York, four representing New Jersey and a player from Connecticut. In addition, all players signed to First Team contracts are eligible to play for NYCFC II.

This season we will see the return of Forward John Denis who led the team in scoring in 2022 with 14 goals, tied for fourth-most in the league. Two-way Defender Stephen Turnbull is back for another season after contributing with five goals and four assists last season, and the 2022 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge participant, Goalkeeper Alex Rando, who recorded five clean sheets for the 'Boys in Blue.'

Sporting Director David Lee said: "NYCFC II has been a critical addition to our player development pathway. It bridges the gap from our Academy to our First Team, providing a robust platform to help us continue to develop young talented players that can hopefully one day play regularly for our First Team.

"Most importantly these young players are accumulating professional minutes at a young age on a very competitive level, and we've already seen the positive contributions they've made across all levels of our organization. The collaboration between the First Team and NYCFC II will continue to be invaluable in developing top local talent, and I'm looking forward to the continued success and growth of our team and the league."

NYCFC will play 28 regular season games across 27 weeks, including 14 matches at home and 14 on the road. All matches will be played exclusively against conference opponents, each team will play home and away with each of the 13 conference opponents and will play three divisional opponents three times - New England, Philadelphia, and New York Red Bulls. As part of the Eastern Conference, NYCFC II will feature in the Northeast division along with New England Revolution II, Philadelphia Union 2, Toronto FC II and the newly inducted Crown Legacy FC and New York Red Bulls II.

To stay up to date on all things NYCFC II, visit NYCFC.com/NYCFCII.

Player | Position | Hometown

Alex Rando | Goalkeeper | Manhattan, NY

Kofi Hope-Gund | Goalkeeper | Manhattan, NY

Rio Hope-Gund | Defender | Manhattan, NY

Klevis Haxhari | Defender | Bronx, NY

Brian Flores | Defender | Stamford, CT

Stephen Turnbull | Defender | Holtsville, NY

Ronald Arevalo | Midfielder | North Bergan, NY

Steven Bednarsky | Midfielder | Chester, NJ

Jack Beer | Midfielder | Thornwood, NJ

John Denis | Midfielder | Yorktown Heights, NY

Piero Ellias | Midfielder | Queens, NY

Julian Gomez | Forward | Fairview, NJ

Mathew Dyan "MD" Myers | Forward | Delran, NJ

Check out the New York City FC II Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



MLS NEXT Pro Stories from March 31, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central