York United Set For Stateside Preseason Prep

The Nine Stripes will be making two trips south as part of their preparations for the 2023 Canadian Premier season.

The Canadian Premier League side will travel to both Pennsylvania and Texas next month to prepare for its fifth campaign. After wrapping up the last season in fine form following the arrival of Molham Babouli, there’s expected to be a sense of optimism emanating from this year’s preseason tour.

Sources have confirmed that the club’s preseason will see the club travel to Pennsylvania in early March for a match against Penn State University, with a brief interlude in Ontario preceding a flight down to Texas a few days later. They’ll spend about a week-and-a-half in the Lone Star State, during which time they’ll square off against MLS Next Pro side Houston Dynamo 2.

The opportunity to play against the Houston Dynamo 2 comes from a connection between York United head coach Martin Nash and Pat Onstad, a former national team squadmate of his who is now the general manager for the Dynamo. That friendly match will take place on March 8 at Houston Sports Park, two days after the club lands in Texas.

By this point the Dynamo 2 – who came second in the frontier conference last year – will be just days away from wrapping their own preseason camp, so they’ll be sure to give York United a hefty challenge on home turf.

This year will mark York United’s first return stateside since a preseason camp in Kissimmee, Florida had to be cut short during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Last season saw the club head westwards to Victoria for preseason, where they featured against Pacific, Valour, and the Vancouver Whitecaps U-23 team.

The club will return back home in mid-March, following which they’ll likely set up a few tilts against local teams from within the province.

This offseason has seen the a flurry of roster movement both in and out, with the Nine Stripes announcing eight brand new player signings thus far, leaving Nash some wiggle room for one or two more additions ahead of the 2023 CPL season.

This month should see news drop about preseason plans for all eight CPL sides. Part of Cavalry’s preparations will involve a trip to Red Deer, whilst a squad of Vancouver FC trialists recently went toe-to-toe with Trinity Western University.

York United’s fifth campaign will kick off on April 16 at home against Valour FC, with a home cup match against Vancouver FC set to follow just two days later.

Header Image Photo Credit: David Chant / Canadian Premier League