Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Bednarsky signs professional contract to play for NYCFC II
3/24/2022 3:17:00 PM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Three-time Lehigh men's soccer captain Stevo Bednarsky is the latest member of the program to sign a professional contract, putting pen to paper in a one-year deal with New York City Football Club II (NYCFC II) in the third-tier of professional soccer in the United States.
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NYCFC II is a brand-new club kicking off in 2022 in the inaugural season of the MLS Next Pro league, a feeder league into the USL Championship which feeds into the MLS (Major League Soccer).
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Bednarsky was announced to be a part of the squad on Thursday along with his new teammates.
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NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee said in a release: "We are thrilled that NYCFC II is finally here. It's a great opportunity for us to continue to progress young talent and provide a pathway for local youth to achieve their dreams of playing professional soccer. No player pathway is linear, and NYCFC II is an excellent platform for the Club to keep identifying and developing talent.
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"NYCFC II will allow us to have some fluidity within our roster. While we can include First Team players who are still in their development stage or looking to gain additional playing minutes, we'll also have players from our academy who are ready to test themselves at a very competitive level."
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Bednarsky recently completed his fifth year with the Lehigh men's soccer program as one of the team's most decorated players, most notably being named an All-Patriot League selection four times (2017, 2019, Spring 2021, 2021). He helped lead the Mountain Hawks to the 2019 Patriot League Championship and scored two goals with six assists for 10 points in 73 career appearances, making a start in every one of them. He was also named a Third Team All-Atlantic Region selection in 2021 by the United Soccer Coaches and is a two-time candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. He is just the fourth three-time captain in Lehigh men's soccer history.
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Bednarsky becomes the 18th player in program history to sign a professional contract, the last being Mark Forrest in 2019, who played with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for two seasons after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 MLS Draft by the Chicago Fire.
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"Coming from a soccer family, this sport has always been something I've been doing and coaching has also run in my family with my mom, dad and brother at Navy, which is something I've definitely wanted to do as well," Bednarsky said. "But something in me wasn't ready to give up on playing and chasing that dream to become a professional soccer player. I told myself that while I'm still young and have the legs and body for it, I had to give it a chance.
Â
"I told Coach Koski and Coach Hess my senior and fifth years that this is something I wanted to pursue and they told me that they'd help me out and make calls when needed to. It turned out that my summer team coach from FC Motown had a connection with NYCFC and their second team, so myself a few other guys from that team had the chance to get invited to their preseason at the end of February and then it was up to us to see if we could make a living out of it."
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Bednarsky will have the unique opportunity to play with a bunch of new teammates on NYCFC II, who have also never played with each other in that it's the very first season of the club's existence. That makes it a challenging, yet exciting experience.
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"It's definitely very different," said Bednarsky. "We're a bunch of guys about to make history with the first team at NYCFC II and first time being a part of this league. It's a great group of guys from all different ages, all different experience levels and all different backgrounds. We're all ready to get after this challenge and just see what this league has to offer and see how far we can go."
Â
NYCFC made history last season by winning the club's first-ever MLS Cup and Bednarsky knows a thing or two about winning titles, something his new club seems keen on doing again in 2022.
Â
"Winning is something that has always been really important to me," Bednarsky said. "I've always been competitive, so I always want to win in whatever it is. Whether it's soccer or just messing around with friends or family, just being a part of a club with aspirations that align with mine makes it a whole lot easier. And everyone in the club, the players, the staff, the backroom staff, they all have the same mentality."
Â
Bednarsky has been the mainstay of Lehigh's midfield for five seasons and has success as both a central midfielder and defensive midfielder, playing wherever the coaching staff has needed him through the course of his career. Just like at Lehigh, he plans on having the same sort of mentality in this next chapter of his playing career.
Â
"Anywhere around the field I'm happy with and something I pride myself on," said Bednarsky. "I know I'm not the fastest, the strongest, the most technical and creative player out there especially with this great group of quality players, but something that I try to offer and bring to the table is my mentality, my work rate and my willingness to do whatever the team needs and to put the team first to help the team win.
Â
"If I can keep that going, I'm more than happy with wherever the team needs me to play. I'm excited to just get out onto that field and make the most out of this opportunity."
Â
Bednarsky also becomes the 17th player under The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski to sign a professional contract, joining a long list of successful signings that include the likes of Will Orben '97, Andrew Mittendorf '99, Kevin Jackson '00, Adam Williamson '06, Jamie Luchini '15 and Forrest '19.
Â
"I am really excited for and proud of Stevo signing his first professional contract," said Koski. "It was a goal of his when he arrived to Lehigh and during his five years at Lehigh, Stevo remained committed to fulfilling this dream.
Â
"Stevo's leadership, character and ability to impact a game will be welcomed by NYCFC."
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Bednarsky and NYCFC II kick off their season this weekend, taking on New England Revolution II on Sunday, March 27 at 5 p.m. from Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John's University.
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Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.Â
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NYCFC II is a brand-new club kicking off in 2022 in the inaugural season of the MLS Next Pro league, a feeder league into the USL Championship which feeds into the MLS (Major League Soccer).
Â
Bednarsky was announced to be a part of the squad on Thursday along with his new teammates.
Â
NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee said in a release: "We are thrilled that NYCFC II is finally here. It's a great opportunity for us to continue to progress young talent and provide a pathway for local youth to achieve their dreams of playing professional soccer. No player pathway is linear, and NYCFC II is an excellent platform for the Club to keep identifying and developing talent.
Â
"NYCFC II will allow us to have some fluidity within our roster. While we can include First Team players who are still in their development stage or looking to gain additional playing minutes, we'll also have players from our academy who are ready to test themselves at a very competitive level."
Â
Bednarsky recently completed his fifth year with the Lehigh men's soccer program as one of the team's most decorated players, most notably being named an All-Patriot League selection four times (2017, 2019, Spring 2021, 2021). He helped lead the Mountain Hawks to the 2019 Patriot League Championship and scored two goals with six assists for 10 points in 73 career appearances, making a start in every one of them. He was also named a Third Team All-Atlantic Region selection in 2021 by the United Soccer Coaches and is a two-time candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. He is just the fourth three-time captain in Lehigh men's soccer history.
Â
Bednarsky becomes the 18th player in program history to sign a professional contract, the last being Mark Forrest in 2019, who played with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC for two seasons after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 MLS Draft by the Chicago Fire.
Â
"Coming from a soccer family, this sport has always been something I've been doing and coaching has also run in my family with my mom, dad and brother at Navy, which is something I've definitely wanted to do as well," Bednarsky said. "But something in me wasn't ready to give up on playing and chasing that dream to become a professional soccer player. I told myself that while I'm still young and have the legs and body for it, I had to give it a chance.
Â
"I told Coach Koski and Coach Hess my senior and fifth years that this is something I wanted to pursue and they told me that they'd help me out and make calls when needed to. It turned out that my summer team coach from FC Motown had a connection with NYCFC and their second team, so myself a few other guys from that team had the chance to get invited to their preseason at the end of February and then it was up to us to see if we could make a living out of it."
Â
Bednarsky will have the unique opportunity to play with a bunch of new teammates on NYCFC II, who have also never played with each other in that it's the very first season of the club's existence. That makes it a challenging, yet exciting experience.
Â
"It's definitely very different," said Bednarsky. "We're a bunch of guys about to make history with the first team at NYCFC II and first time being a part of this league. It's a great group of guys from all different ages, all different experience levels and all different backgrounds. We're all ready to get after this challenge and just see what this league has to offer and see how far we can go."
Â
NYCFC made history last season by winning the club's first-ever MLS Cup and Bednarsky knows a thing or two about winning titles, something his new club seems keen on doing again in 2022.
Â
"Winning is something that has always been really important to me," Bednarsky said. "I've always been competitive, so I always want to win in whatever it is. Whether it's soccer or just messing around with friends or family, just being a part of a club with aspirations that align with mine makes it a whole lot easier. And everyone in the club, the players, the staff, the backroom staff, they all have the same mentality."
Â
Bednarsky has been the mainstay of Lehigh's midfield for five seasons and has success as both a central midfielder and defensive midfielder, playing wherever the coaching staff has needed him through the course of his career. Just like at Lehigh, he plans on having the same sort of mentality in this next chapter of his playing career.
Â
"Anywhere around the field I'm happy with and something I pride myself on," said Bednarsky. "I know I'm not the fastest, the strongest, the most technical and creative player out there especially with this great group of quality players, but something that I try to offer and bring to the table is my mentality, my work rate and my willingness to do whatever the team needs and to put the team first to help the team win.
Â
"If I can keep that going, I'm more than happy with wherever the team needs me to play. I'm excited to just get out onto that field and make the most out of this opportunity."
Â
Bednarsky also becomes the 17th player under The Ingrassia Family Men's Head Soccer Coach Dean Koski to sign a professional contract, joining a long list of successful signings that include the likes of Will Orben '97, Andrew Mittendorf '99, Kevin Jackson '00, Adam Williamson '06, Jamie Luchini '15 and Forrest '19.
Â
"I am really excited for and proud of Stevo signing his first professional contract," said Koski. "It was a goal of his when he arrived to Lehigh and during his five years at Lehigh, Stevo remained committed to fulfilling this dream.
Â
"Stevo's leadership, character and ability to impact a game will be welcomed by NYCFC."
Â
Bednarsky and NYCFC II kick off their season this weekend, taking on New England Revolution II on Sunday, March 27 at 5 p.m. from Belson Stadium on the campus of St. John's University.
Â
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.Â
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