City, selects Jeff Caldwell and AJ Paterson SuperDraft
The New York City FC today selected goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (University of Virginia) with their 19th pick in the First Round of the MLS SuperDraft 2018.
In the Second Round, NYCFC acquired defender AJ Paterson from Wright State University as the 42nd pick overall.
At the SuperDraft, First Round pick Caldwell said, “Hearing your name finally get called is an indescribable experience. And for it to be at such a massive club and with such storied guys around it, with Patrick Vieira, David Villa, and one of my personal heroes from the University of Virginia, Claudio Reyna, I can’t contain my excitement.
“There can’t be a better opportunity anywhere in the league. I don’t think there are many places in the world where you can get a better environment than that.
“I think I’m a quicker guy, I consider myself a cerebral goalkeeper, I like to take my time to define the points, positioning, everything. It’s such a nuanced position, I think that’s one of my strong points; just thinking through the game and analyzing and learning.
“Throughout the last couple of years at UVA, we really worked to develop my feet and add that comfort level. So I know this could be a sharp learning curve to jump that to another level. I’m really excited for the opportunity to go to a place where I know that’ll be encouraged and developed and I can’t wait. I hope to thrive there.”
Head Coach Patrick Vieira said, “When you look at the quality of the player, he’s technically really good. I think with the way we play, he’s really comfortable having the ball at his feet. He’s really strong physically and of course, he’s got some skills that he needs to develop but we are really pleased with our pick.
“We wanted to be sure that we could bring in the right person to fit in the dressing room. He’s a really good and humble person and is going to work really hard for the football club.”
Sporting Director Claudio Reyna added, “He has really good feet, he’s experienced and has had really good years at the University of Virginia. He’s a mature goalkeeper who will fit in the professional environment right away with Patrick and we expect him to compete with our goalkeepers.
“We’re really excited about it. We thought goalkeepers are becoming a premium in MLS with the expansion and in college, you have a lot of goalkeepers who come through the system and are well prepared. He was our target and he landed with us so we’re excited.”
NYCFC’s Second Round selection AJ Paterson was not present at the SuperDraft but there will be quotes from the new man on NYCFC.com soon.
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