US College Soccer Champion acknowledged ‘extremely honored and excited’ after leaving Clemson’s team.
The career of Guayaquil-born Luis Felipe Fernández Salvador in soccer presents a new stage in the United States, a leap to professionalism. The young player, recent college champion of the North American country with the Clemson University (South Carolina) team, was selected on Tuesday in the MLS SuperDraft by Vancouver Whitecaps, a Western Conference club.
The Ecuadorian soccer player was chosen in number 44 (round 2) of the selection process and will have his new home in the Canadian institution.
“I am extremely honored and excited about this opportunity. Thank you Vancouver Whitecaps. Dreams come true ”, wrote Fernández (20 years old).
The former Clemson Tigers figure was selected by the Whitecaps, as were players Simon Becher (round 1), Giovanni Aguilar, Theo Collomb and Vítor Dias.
En la Major League Soccer 2021, Vancouver finished sixth in the West and stayed in the first round of the postseason after losing to Sporting Kansas City (3-1). Those from Canada compete in the North American league since 2011, without any title until now.
In the Whitecaps, Fernández will meet his compatriot Pedro Vite, who since August 2021 has been a member of the Canadians’ first team, after playing for Independiente del Valle. There is also the Colombian Cristian Dájome, champion of the 2019 South American Cup with the striped ones of Pichincha.
In mid-December, Pipe celebrated the 2021 football title of the NCAA (National University Sports Association, in Spanish), after Clemson beat Washington 2-0 in the final of the US tournament: “I won the United States championship, the first Ecuadorian to do so”.
The porteño was crucial in Clemson’s qualification for the first division national final. In the semifinals, he scored 1-1 against Notre Dame with a right hand from outside the area that anticipated the reaction of goalkeeper Bryan Dowd (minute 35), in a game that was decided in the penalty shootout (6-5) on Friday, December 10.
According to the NCAA website, Fernández was the Tigres’ second top scorer last season, with eight goals in 23 games; The first was Isaiah Reid, with nine points in 22 appearances.
Fernández, born in Guayaquil on February 28, 2000 and who migrated to the United States in 2016, joined Clemson for the 2018-2019 season, according to the Atlantic Coast Conference team’s online platform. (D)
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