CJ Fodrey achieved a milestone on Saturday: His first assist with the Austin FC first team, after moving between Austin FC II and the first team following his selection in the MLS SuperDraft in December 2022.
The San Diego State winger, who also spent some time in USL under Landon Donovan’s tutelage with the San Diego Loyal, has just 48 minutes with Austin FC so far, but he’s also approaching, if not already, at the crossroads Damian Las found himself in toward the end of last season — the need to be tested at a higher level than MLS Next Pro can offer.
In Saturday’s match against Houston, Fodrey’s header off a Brad Stuver Route 1 goal kick provided Emiliano Rigoni the opportunity to score a goal and get three crucial away points where just one looked possible. Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff assessed it as a positive step in Fodrey’s ongoing development.
“I think with any young player, it’s about performance,” he began, “so for him, it's coming in in better condition as he did this year. I mentioned that he came in shape, much better from a physical standpoint this preseason. He had a little bit of an injury. He's 19 years old. He needs to play games, he needs to see minutes but the time he spent with Brett [Uttley] and ATX [FC] II is extremely influential. That is the progression to get guys ready for the first team.”
(Note: Fodrey turned 20 on Feb. 10.)
Wolff then observed, regarding Saturday’s performance, “He has to show the responsibility both in the defending and the attacking, and I think we saw that tonight. So progress has been made because, one, he's training with us on a regular basis, two, he's getting the games with ATX II, and Brett does a tremendous job again linking the ideas and certainly, our game model between first team and second team, so that when those guys move into our space, they’re at least being brought into a space that are set up for success. It's up to the players to be able to perform.”
He continued, “If you're 19, 20, it doesn't matter. If and when you get up there, when that opportunity comes, take it For CJ, I think we're all happy. He's done a good job at ATX II; thus, he got his opportunity here. And you know, I think he should feel good about the performance, but he needs to stay hungry. This is just a step and he's got to continue to perform.”
I wanted a chance to find out more about where Fodrey feels he’s at early in this potentially-pivotal season. I got a chance to talk to him just a bit ago. Enjoy the interview (and, if you’re not a subscriber yet, this is a good time to smash through the paywall).
