Louisville City’s raid of the Sporting Kansas City roster continues! Following in the footsteps of both Amadou Dia and Matiti Mushagalusa, Wilson Harris will join Morados for the 2022 campaign. The 22-year-old had a short stint in the Seattle Sounders FC Academy (like Ray Serrano) before committing to play collegiality with the Louisville Cardinals in 2018. He would instead go on to sign for SKC2 (then Swope Park Rangers) and make his USL debut that May and would go on to score 25 goals in 66 appearances for SKC2. In 2020, Harris was named the USL Championship’s Young Player of the Year. In 2019 and 2021, he spent some time with the SKC MLS team, however, he was not resigned after the 2021 season and was snatched up by LouCity after a trial with Toronto FC. MLS veteran, Graham Zusi, had positive things to say about Wilson, “He’s been training with us the past couple of years, going between Sporting II and the first team, and we’ve seen what he’s capable of in training. The guy is just a natural goal scorer. You put him in front of the goal and everything he touches seems to go in.”
“We are looking forward to adding another important piece to our roster for the 2022 season," said Coach Danny Cruz. "Wilson is a dynamic goal scorer in the USL Championship who we believe will compliment our group. We'll be implementing some different systems this year, and we're looking forward to creating new partnerships between proven goal scorers."
“I think this is a great next step for me,” Harris said. “I’ve played at Louisville — such an amazing stadium, great fans, and a tough away game. You look at the long list of players who have played at LouCity and how much quality there’s been. I’m excited to join something great. I look to be a finisher and provide good linkup play like a classic No. 9. It’s good to have depth like we will on this team at striker.”
Like Matiti, he is a talented young player and, like Amadou; he has experience at both the USL and MLS levels. Even with Cameron Lancaster as the clear favorite to earn the starting, go-to striker role, the signing of Wilson Harris is a good bit of business for Coach Cruz. Low risk and high reward. A second striker was needed, so why not grab someone of his pedigree to challenge and push Cam? It sounds like we might see a little something different this season, so perhaps he will be the 2nd striker up top. Who knows, maybe he becomes a long-term piece of the puzzle and one day gives Cam a serious run for his number one status. Only time will tell, however, it’s a signing fans should be pleased to see for this upcoming season.
Current 2022 Louisville City FC Roster
Forwards: Jorge Gonzalez, Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby, Enoch "Matiti" Mushagalusa, Ray Serrano, Wilson Harris
Midfielders: Corben Bone, Tyler Gibson, Jay Tee Kamara, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Carlos Moguel Jr., Paolo DelPiccolo, Elijah Wynder
Defenders: Wes Charpie, Owen Damm, Amadou Dia, Oscar Jimenez, Sean Totsch, Josh Wynder
Goalkeepers: Kyle Morton, Parker Siegfried
Parting Thoughts
On 02/23, the Coopers will be holding a USWNT watch party and membership packet pickup event at Atrium Brewing. Join in on the fun!
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? Might I suggest The Tifos of Louisville City, The Louisville City Youth Movement, Louisville City’s Pathway To The Pros, What Are Expected Goals (xG)?, or What Are Goals Added (G+)?.
Have a friend just getting into LouCity soccer? Be sure to send them the Introduction To Louisville City link to give them a point of reference to learn about the club and league.
Be sure to check out the Vamos Morados Podcast featuring me, Benton, and Zach Allen-Kelly. It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, Audible, and Spotify. Everything you need to listen can be found on the Podcast page. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!
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