So, who were those guys?
If you’ve been watching Boston City for the past three seasons, some familiar names have emerged, but Saturday’s thrilling NPSL season opener away to Hartford City introduced a host of new faces to Lions fans.
Seven players made their first team debuts in the 3-3 away draw and only keeper Jake Wagmeister and forwards Rigoberto Jimenez and Jhonata Batista have started a significant number of matches in prior years, while Ralph Angrand, Santi Cardona and Jonathan Argueta have also seen action.
So… who are the exiting players aiming to lead Boston City FC to new successes, who battled to bring home a point n Saturday?
Goalkeeper
Jake Wagmeister waited patiently for his chance in goal in 2018, eventually starting in the fifth game of the season and was ever-present between the posts until the end of the campaign. He joined Boston City FC at the start of the 2018 season and is the only keeper out of nine to have played for the club who recorded a shutout on his debut. His performances earned him the Ironsides Crew supporters’ group Man of the Year award.
Defenders
Willian Bonora Santana played with Boston City FC II in the Bay State Soccer League in 2018. In his native Brazil, he played for junior teams Parana Clube, Avai futebol Clube, Portuguesa de Desportos SP, Amparo SP and Ceramica RS, while in the U.S. he attended and played soccer at the Savannah College of Art & Design.
Ralph Angrand played in five matches for the Lions, mainly at right back in 2018, including his first full 90-minute match in the season opener against the New York Cosmos. Ralph made five appearances for the Lions in 2016, at either right back or in the center of defense and started both matches in the back-to-back end of season derbies against Greater Lowell United. Ralph has represented Haiti at Under 17 level.
Jeremy Pachter has played with Boston City FC II in the BSSL in 2018 and with Mass United, helping them reach the national quarter finals of the United Premier Soccer League, where they lost to the eventual champions. In the spring of 2019, Jeremy was one of three Lions players who traveled to the Boston City FC academy in Manhuaçu to spend three weeks training with the club’s professional team.
Jonathan Argueta returns to Boston City having played briefly for the Lions in 2017. Either a full back or midfielder, he started against GPS Omens in the U.S. Open Cup and played in three NPSL matches that season.
Keith Dixon came to Boston City through the April 2019 tryouts. He has played collegiately at the University of Rhode Island and Springfield College and played with the junior and Under 23 teams of Western Mass Pioneers and with the Boston Blazers.
Midfielders
Mateus Araujo played for Boston City FC II in the Bay State Soccer League in 2018. In his native Brazil, he played at Botafogo SP and Monte Azul SP. He scored the equalizing goal in the first BCFC II match of 2019 as the Lions won 2-1 in the McKenzie Cup.
Charlton Muhlauri played his senior season at Northeastern University in 2017 having spent four seasons with the Huskies. He lined up for Southie FC during qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup in 2018. He played high school soccer at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire, having arrived from his native Zimbabwe in 2011.
Samuel Deossa has progressed through the academy systems of the New England Revolution and Boston Bolts having played varsity soccer at Watertown High School. In 2018, the midfielder captained the club’s second team as a 16-year-old as Boston City FC II narrowly missed out on winning promotion in the Bay State Soccer League. In the spring of 2019, Samuel was one of three Lions players who traveled to the Boston City FC academy in Manhuaçu to spend three weeks training with the club’s professional team.
Tommaso D’Agostino is an experienced midfielder who has played with Western Mass Pioneers, HASK Zagreb in Croatia and Scordia in Italy. He holds both U.S> and Italian passports and coaches at UMass Lowell.
Santi Cardona made his debut in the third match of the 2018 season and gradually saw more playing time as the year progressed. He scored his first goal for the club in the final match of the season, spectacularly curling home a finish from 20 yards out to earn a 3-1 lead against Greater Lowell. The midfielder hails from Revere, where Boston City’s managing director Craig Tornberg tracked him and ultimately brought him to the New England Revolution Academy at the age of 13, where he starred for six years.
Forwards
Rigoberto Jimenez played in every match of the 2018 season for the Lions, totaling 830 minutes, which was second only to captain Gabriel De Souza. The Honduran-born forward was on target as Boston City beat upcoming opponent Hartford City in a 2-0 win, the first of the year. He also played an integral part in Boston City FC II opening the 2019 BSSL campaign with a series of wins.
Jhonata Batista spent the 2018 NPSL campaign with cross-state rival Greater Lowell after playing for two seasons with Boston City FC. The goal-hungry Brazilian was averaging a goal per game in 2017 when he suffered a season-ending injury. In 2016, he had struggled to hit the target having arrived from playing in the NPSL in California, scoring twice in 13 matches before injury kept him sidelined. The hard-working forward rejoined the Lions in the fall after his spell in Lowell, scoring freely for the BCFC II team.
