ROBERTS LOOKS TO MAKE HIS MARK AS KEY DEFENDER

Logan Roberts is entering his first full season in the MASL and is looking forward to a breakout performance. The rookie played for the Syracuse Silver Knights in ten games last year against the registering one point.

“Roberts is a tall, slender defender, very technical, and lightning quick,” said Ryan Hall.  “We’re looking for him to take on players 1v1 out of the back and exposing some of the targets who are a little bit slower than him.”

“I’m excited,” said Roberts. “Last year was a learning experience for me but it was a lot of fun. We obviously had a very good year last year, having the most wins in the franchise and we’re bringing back a lot of the same guys so I’m definitely excited to get going and to get into the season.”

Roberts spent the off-season prepping by, “a lot of working out with a couple of the guys who stay local and we get together and play a couple of days a week, just trying to stay in shape, keep my body right and try and stay healthy heading into the season.”

His strength is his speed and he is looking to capitalize on that as he faces opponents. “I want to use my athleticism and my pace to bring some energy into the game and defend at a high level. That’s what I did when I got to play at the end of last season and I think Coach Hall is looking for a lot of the same. Hopefully a bit more offense, too.”

As he looks ahead to playing for a new organization and under the cables of the Adirondack Bank Center, Roberts says, “It’s brought a lot of excitement to us just as players knowing that we’ll be able to play in front of a loud crowd and a lot of people every Sunday is exciting and we’re looking forward to it.”

Hall says “He still has some learning of the game to do, in terms of bodying up players, angling the boards in defensive shape, but he really excelled towards the end of last year and I’m really hoping he’ll have a breakout season this year.”

Catch Logan Roberts and the rest of the Utica City FC in the Blue and Black inter-squad match up on Sunday, November 18 at 2 p.m. Visit www.empirestatetix.com to download your complimentary tickets.