CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After years of waiting, Charlotte soccer fans are certainly excited about Charlotte FC's first-ever home match on March 5 against the L.A. Galaxy.
But one of the team's players might be the most excited of anyone, since he'll take the field that day.
Charlotte native Jaylin Lindsey is a defender for Charlotte FC.
He left town at the age of 14 to pursue his pro soccer dream, which brought him to Missouri where he played for Sporting Kansas City.
Charlotte FC acquired Lindsey from Sporting KC for $100,000 in general allocation money in December.
The 21-year-old says he gets goosebumps just thinking about walking on to the turf at Bank of America Stadium on March 5, a day the team expects a record-setting MLS crowd of over 74,000 fans.
"The image is in my head already," Lindsey said. "Growing up watching soccer games, and countless football games there, that's my homefield. It's truly amazing. A dream come true."
Lindsey is still recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered last season, but trained fully on Thursday with the team, and expects to be healthy by the team's inaugural match, which is Feb. 26 at D.C. United.