AUSTIN, Texas — Austin FC announced five signings on Dec. 13, just days before the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft.
The club announced it has signed defenders Ben Sweat, Nick Lima and Julio Cascante to the roster. Sweat played for Inter Miami CF for the 2020 season, Lima most recently played for the San Jose Earthquakes and Cascante most recently played for the Portland Timbers.
Austin FC has also signed midfielder Ulises Segura, who most recently played for D.C. United from 2018 to 2020, and forward Jon Gallagher, who comes to Austin from Atlanta United.
With the signings of Sweat, Lima, Cascante, Segura and Gallagher, Austin's MLS club is one step closer to completion ahead of its scheduled debut in spring 2021. Prior to Sunday, Austin FC had two signed players on its roster: Paraguayan duo Rodney Redes and Cecilio Domínguez.
Next, the club will have an opportunity to increase its roster with the five players slated to be selected in the expansion draft. You can track the team's growing roster here.
KVUE spoke with Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff, who said the team is looking for players who are "high-scoring" and "ruthless."
"We want to be possession-based and have the ball, but ultimately we want to be excited, we want to be entertaining, we want to score goals, we want to be offensive," Wolff told KVUE. "We're out there to put on a show, and we want players who are aggressive and hungry and ruthless! There needs to be more ruthlessness in sports. That's the way I view it."
For more information on how the MLS Expansion Draft will work, visit Austin FC's website. KVUE will have full coverage of Austin FC's expansion draft – scheduled to start at 5 p.m. on Dec. 15 – on kvue.com/sports.
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