Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC completed a 10-day training camp at Westmont’s Thorrington Field.
The team arrived in Santa Barbara on Jan. 21.
“Here at Westmont, the field’s been great,” New York City FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver said. “The backdrop of training here has been amazing. Overall, it’s been a really positive experience.”
New York City FC head coach Ronny Deila, who took the job on Jan. 6, was not involved in the decision making process to train at Westmont because he was not yet hired. He’s satisfied with the organization’s decision nonetheless.
“This was a great choice for the club,” Deila said. “We’ve had a very good time here. Nice city, very good beach, and fantastic staff around. We’ve been very pleased about the stay.”
While in Santa Barbara, the team also trained at Peak Performance Project, also known as P3, and took spin bike classes at StarCycle.
New York City FC began its training camp on Jan. 12 with a week in Orlando, Florida, before heading back to New York for a few days of recovery. The team then traveled to the west coast for phase two of training camp – first to Santa Barbara and now to Los Angeles, where it will scrimmage against LAFC on Friday. The club will conclude its west coast trip with another friendly on Tuesday.
The team hopes its stay in Santa Barbara will help jumpstart its push for trophies this season.
“This is a really important time in our camp right now, just to get everything solidified, because we have a meaningful game in two and a half weeks,” Stuver said.
New York City FC’s season begins earlier than in years past because the team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in its history, by finishing the 2019 MLS regular season atop the Eastern Conference. The club will face off against Costa Rican side AD San Carlos over two legs in the Round of 16, beginning on Feb. 20.
After notching the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season, New York City FC earned a first-round bye directly into the conference semifinals. But the team lost 2-1 on a 90th minute penalty kick to Toronto FC, who ultimately represented the Eastern Conference in the MLS Cup before falling to the Seattle Sounders.