March 10, 2022 (Queens, NY) – Queensboro FC II finished up their pre-season with a strong 5-2 against Valencia CF NY Academy and now prepares to face FC Copa Academy in their season opener this upcoming Saturday. It’s a special season for the 2021 Northeast Champions as they, unlike last year, will compete in both USL Academy Northeast Conference and the semi-pro UPSL Premier Division. The team are looking to repeat their success from their inaugural season where they made some serious noise by only losing one game during the USL-A regular season and made it to the final at the National Playoffs later in December.
Due to age limits in the league, QBFCII lost several key players from the past season but Technical Director at Queensboro FC, Luis Gutierrez, is confident that they will replace the missing pieces and just like last year will find their rhythm with time. “The preseason has been a process to accommodate the new players, we have a few new faces and we have lost some important players. Like last season, we will need a few more weeks to set the pieces and start seeing the group performing at the level we want.” Head Coach of QBFC II, Diego Gomez, emphasizes how this pre-season has pushed the team closer and that the players are ready and fit to face the new challenges ahead of them. “The preseason has served the team well in terms of getting to know each other better and implement some of our ideas. There are several new players and it takes time for us to get where we want to be in terms of team chemistry and concepts. I have seen the team grow and we are ready to face the season.”
Playing in two different leagues at the same time will be a new experience for the team, especially as UPSL is semi-pro and open to all ages. Both USL Academy and UPSL have national playoffs and Head Coach Gomez is ambitious for his team to make it far. “We have a very interesting season ahead of us. In the USL-A league we want to repeat last year’s success by winning the division and advancing far in the playoffs. However, UPSL is a new challenge for the boys as they will be playing against older men. Let’s see where we are, but we are going to push to make it to playoffs.”
Gutierrez explains the reasoning behind adding the UPSL to the game day schedule as a necessary step in order to get some of the academy players ready to take the next step and play for the first team in 2023 where QBFC will be competing in the USL Championship. “I am very excited about the season; we know what we can get from the USL Academy but adding UPSL to the calendar brings a new scenario. Competing in a senior league will give us another vision of the players and prepare them for the next level. We are trying to find a competitive environment that is closer to the USL Championship level as we want to promote as many players as we can from QBFC II to the first team.”
QBFC II will face FC Copa Academy Saturday, 3/12 at St. Joseph’s High School in New Jersey. VAMOS
