Young wing awaits chance with NYCFC

New York City FC winger Jonathan Lewis might be struggling for minutes, but a string of injuries has opened the door for the highly touted rookie.

And even if he won’t admit it, the 19-year-old is relishing the opportunity.

“I hope so,” Lewis said, laughing, as NYCFC (3-1-2, 10 points) prepared to face Orlando City (4-0-1, 12 points) on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. “I’ll be ready. Whatever [coach Patrick Vieira] wants to give me, I’ll be ready.”

Lewis, who was born in Florida, didn’t start playing soccer until the fourth grade. He played basketball and football before his family moved to Jamaica. Upon their return to the United States the following year, Lewis dropped the other sports to focus on soccer. He had a brief trial at Bradford City in England before he returned home to star in his only college season at Akron, notching two goals and 12 assists while being named the MAC Freshman of the Year.

It isn’t a surprise he comes to New York with much fanfare, especially after NYCFC traded $250,000 in general allocation money to Chicago to grab him with the No. 3 pick in the MLS draft. Still, finding the field has been difficult for Lewis be- rocket by forward Ola Kamara.

Robles notched his 29th clean sheet at home in his Red Bulls career, but despite the score line, a sluggish second half start had Marsch worried.

“I felt at the 52nd minute, we might be in for a long half,” he said. “[But] by the 57th minute, we started to grab a grasp of the game. … We weathered the storm.” cause his commitment to the United States under-20 team caused him to miss most of preseason. It also doesn’t help that NYCFC has a much improved — and crowded — attack.

So far, Lewis has made one brief appearance this season, logging 11 minutes in a 1-1 draw against Montreal on March 18, not nearly enough of a sample to show what he is capable of.

Lewis’ chance for some action could come Sunday after NYCFC lost two key players — left back Ronald Matarrita and winger Khiry Shelton — to injuries, forcing Vieira to fiddle with his lineup against Orlando City, which has found its footing with former NYCFC coach Jason Kreis. NYCFC lost the season opener, 1-0, at Orlando City earlier this season.