Velasquez latest RSL player to go to NYC; team opens 2015 on road


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SANDY — When Jason Kreis left Real Salt Lake to take the head coaching job at New York City FC, he took with him a knowledge of the organization, its staff and players as he worked to build the North American affiliate of Manchester City.

On Thursday, he tapped that organization once again.

Sebastian Velasquez, the 23-year-old midfielder from Medellin, Colombia, was traded from RSL to Kreis’ new club on Thursday, and the New York side sent allocation money in return.

Per league and team policy, financial considerations will not be disclosed.

Velasquez was a second-round MLS SuperDraft pick by RSL in 2012 after playing at Division II Spartanburg Methodist College in Mississippi. The attacking midfielder played three seasons with RSL, where he notched a goal and five assists in 38 regular-season games that included 15 starts.

Velasquez’s biggest contributions came in 2013, when he played in five playoff matches that included two starts. But his playing time diminished over the past season, when he also appeared in court on a DUI charge in Salt Lake City.

The 23-year-old joins former RSL players Kreis and assistant coach Miles Joseph, as well as new NYC FC teammates Ned Grabavoy and Chris Wingert, who went to the expansion club from RSL in the MLS expansion draft last week. He also joins a slew of other ex-RSL players in defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe, goalkeeper Josh Saunders and midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy.

RSL OPENS 2015 ON ROAD — Real Salt Lake and Major League Soccer also announced the 20 teams’ home openers for the 2015 season.

RSL will kick off Saturday, March 7 on the road, when it will visit former club favorites Nat Borchers and Will Johnson (if he is back from a knee injury) at Providence Park against the Portland Timbers.

RSL will head home the next week for its opener on the Wasatch Front, a March 14 clash with Eastern Conference foe Philadelphia Union.

The league’s first match will be Friday, March 6 when the defending MLS Cup champion L.A. Galaxy will host the Chicago Fire. NYC FC will travel to fellow 2015 expansion club Orlando City SC on Sunday, March 8.

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