Karsten Smith is a Huntington Station native and a former standout player in the Long Island Junior Soccer League and at Walt Whitman High School. He went on to play his college soccer at American University where he earned All-Patriot League honors twice.

This winter, Karsten was signed to the roster of F.C. New York, a new professional soccer franchise that plays in the USL Pro league. Over the coming months, He will share his experiences with our LIJSoccer.com readers as he adjusts to the pro game and helps create an identity for a new franchise. Be sure to check back regularly for updates.

I’m happy to say that things have completely turned around since the last time I talked to you. A month ago, I was trying to work my way back into the starting lineup as a rookie trying to find my way in the professional game. After my last entry, our team went on a three game road trip and I didn’t play a single minute in any of those games. But when we got back, our coach resigned, the assistant coach took over, and Adelphi University men’s coach Carlo Acquista took over the soccer operations.

That last piece was important because Carlo, who is now making all the soccer decisions, put me back in the lineup right away. Since then, I’ve played every minute of every game, and three weeks ago I was named to the USL Team of the Week, sort of a weekly USL all-star team. Even better, I had a discussion with the coach the other day and he said he expects me to play every minute of every game the rest of the season. That was obviously great news.

During that conversation, he talked about the chemistry that I had developed with the other young players in the middle of the field, and they would like to build the team around us moving forward. As a player, that’s great to hear and really makes me feel good about the way I’m playing.

Good things continue to happen, like tonight. We are playing the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in the 3rd round of the US Open Cup. This is a cool tournament that gives teams from all different leagues, from amateur, to USL, to MLS, a chance to compete with each other for one championship. For our team and for me personally, it’s a cool opportunity to play against an MLS team.

Honestly, even though I’m excited about the game, I’m pretty relaxed, which is a good thing. If you build it up too much, the pressure can get to you. For me this is just good exposure, an opportunity to improve, and a chance to show that I can play against that level of competition. The MLS is obviously the next step, and to play in that league one day is my goal, so I’m excited about the opportunity. It’s a beautiful stadium, and I hear they are expecting about 10,000 people, which will include some of my friends, who will also be there, so it should be a lot of fun. I’m really looking forward to it.

The last exciting news I have is that we will be playing on Fox Soccer Channel on Friday against the Antigua Barracudas in a USL league game. So in addition to playing against the MLS, we will be on national TV! It’s going to be a good week. I hope we continue to play well.