FC Naples set for inaugural home opener Saturday night

Author: Zach Oliveri
Published: Updated:

It started as an idea. Then, it gained an identity. Now, it’s a team.

It’s been over a year since FC Naples, the USL League One expansion club, was born. On Saturday night, the club plays its first game in its history.

FC Naples striker Karsen Henderlong said excited for the opener, “Little bit anxious kind of the moment you’ve been waiting for.”

Henderlong joined the club to help bring professional soccer to Naples. Him and his teammates have embraced their new surroundings.

“Last year in Indianapolis, obviously we were in colder weather,” Henderlong said. “No beach areas. So being able to go to the beach and train out there and do some yoga or whatever it might be.”

For these players, a chance to build the identity and culture of a club is why they joined FC Naples.

“Most things you do in life already have a foundation and you kind of fit into a mold where here it’s exciting to be able to build that foundation,” Henderlong said.

“Anytime you’re starting from scratch it’s an opportunity for a fresh start for you as a player and it’s cool to be a part of really connecting with the community,” FC Naples defender Max Glasser said.

That community gets their first look at head coach and sporting director Matt Poland’s FC Naples squad Saturday night.

When asked what he wants the first impression of the club to be, Poland answered, “the effort, the intensity, the focus on the detail, the focus on the doing the next right action. There’s certain things in a game you can’t control.”

Poland added, “In any game that we play, we want to make sure the controllable factors are being seen. Naples is a community where’s there’s a lot of success. A lot of hard work to get that success and so we ultimately need to play in a style that engages with the community that we’re representing.”

FC Naples plays Chattanooga SC Saturday at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex at 7 p.m.

WINK Sports will have team coverage of the inaugural home opener.

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