It Take A Team: Welcome to 2020

2019 marked a successful inaugural year for the Austin Bold.  The Bold advanced to the quarter finals of the United Soccer League championship, falling to the league’s best team in a Penalty Shot decision.  Austin also progressed to fourth round of the United States Open Championship before narrowly falling to the Houston Dynamo of the MLS.  The Bold welcomes back 15 players and their head coach and hopes to get a fast start on the 2020 USL Championship season. 

Caption: Valeri Saramutin, Kris Tyrpak, Andre Lima and Xavier Baez celebrate a goal in the match against Rio Grande Valley Toros FC on September 1, 2019.    The Bold defeated the Toros 2-0.  

#3 Edson Braafheid

Edson Braafheid joined the Bold from the FC Utrecht of the Eredivisie, the premier division in the Netherlands.   The defender played in 15 matches, starting in 14, making 9 shots with no goals. Caption: Edson Braafheid puts the ball back into play in the match against the Tulsa Roughnecks FC on August 17, 2019.  The Bold won 5-1.    

#4 Jermaine Taylor

Jermaine Taylor joined the Bold from the Minnesota United FC.  The defender started in 33 matches for the Bold, making 8 shots with no goals. Caption: Jermaine Taylor moves the ball upfield in the match with the San Antonio FC on March 30, 2019. The Bold won 1-0.  

#8 Xavier Baez

Xavier Baez joined the Bold after playing 11 seasons in Liga MX.  The midfielder started in 33 games, scoring 1 goal on 24 shots. Caption:  Xavier Baez drives the ball downfield in the match against the New Mexico United on May 25, 2019.  

#9 Kleber Giacomazzi

Kleber Giacomazzi joined the Bold from the Coritiba FC in Brazil.  The forward started in 24 of the 26 matches in played with the Bold and netted 11 goals on 41 shots. Caption: Kleber Giacomazzi moves the ball upfield in the match with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on June 29, 2019. The Bold won 5-0.  

#15 Amobi Okugo

Amobi Okugo joined the Bold from the Portland Timber of the MLS.  The defender / midfielder started in 33of the 34 matches in played with the Bold and netted 2 goals on 9 shots. Caption:   Amobi Okugo blocks the shot by the Phoenix Rising FC in their match on April 18, 2019.  The Bold won 1-0.  

#17 Sean McFarlane

Sean McFarlane joined the Bold from the Miami FC of the USL.  The defender started in 32 of his 33 matches play with the Bold, with 3 goals on 29 shots. Caption:  Sean McFarlane celebrates his goal in the 21st minute of the match against the Orange County SC on July 13, 2019.  The Bold won 3-2. 

#18 Fabien Garcia

Fabien Garcia joined the Bold from the Nimes Olympique of the Lique 2 in France.  The defender started in 4 of his 8 matched played with the Bold.   Caption:  Fabien Garcia knocks down the loose ball in the match against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Jne 29, 2019.   The Bold won 5-0.  

#19 Kris Tyrpak

Kris Tyrpak joined the Bold from the Nashville SC in the USL.  The forward played in 29 games, starting in 13, and netting 9 goals on 48 shots. Caption:  Kris Tyrpak takes the shot and narrowly misses the goal in the match against the El Paso Locomotive on April 21, 2019.  

#21 Thomas De Villardi

Thomas De Villardi joined the Bold from the Minnesota United FC of the MLS.  The midfielder played in 21 matches, starting in 16. Caption: Thomas De Villardi drives the ball down pitch in the match against the San Antonio FC on March 30, 2019.  The Bold won 1-0.  

#24 Diego Restrepo

Diego Restrepo joined the Bold from the San Antonio FC where he was named USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year.  He started in 31 matches and enter 10 clean sheets with a 71% save rate. Caption:  Diego Restrepo makes the save in the match against the Las Vegas Lights on September 22, 2019.  The Bold won 4-1.  

#27 Valeri Saramutin

Valeri Saramutin joined the Bold from the FC Veles Moscow of the Russian National Football League.  The midfielder played in 27 matches, starting in 20, netting 1 goal on 6 shots. Caption:  Valeri Saramutin battels the aerial duel in the match against the Sacramento Republic FC on September 11, 2019.  

#33 Sonny Guadarrama

Sonny Guadarrama joined the Bold from the San Antonio FC of the USL.  The midfielder played in 27 matches, starting in 19, netting 2 goals on 23 shots. Caption:  Sonny has a goal and 2 assists in the third round US Open Championship match against the San Antonio FC on May 29, 2019.  The Bold won 4-2.  

#99 Andre Lima

Andre Lima joined the Bold from the Esporte Clube Vitoria in Brazil’s Campeonato Serie A.  The forward played in 35 matches, starting in 31, scoring 14 goals on 80 shots. Caption:  Andre Lima narrowly misses the goal with this scissor kick in the match against the Orange County SC on July 13, 2019.  The Bold won 3-2.  

Marcelo Serrano

Marcelo Serrano was introduced as the first head coach in Austin Bold FC history on 3 August 2018 for its inaugural 2019 season. He will lead the team in 2019 to a quarter final appearance in the USL Championship with a record of 16 wins, 14 losses and 9 draws. Caption: Head coach Marcelo Serrano congratulates Andre Lima on his goal in the match against the Rio Grande Valley FC on September 1, 2019. The Bold won 2-0.  

In Memory of #11 Isaac Promise

We lost Isaac Promise on October 2, 2019.  He will always be remembered as the consummate professional, an intense competitor on the pitch and a great human being off. Caption:   Forward Isaac Promise takes the shot and scores against the Fresno FC in a United Soccer League match on July 27, 2019.   The goal would be the only of the game as the Bold won 1-0.  

Copyright Andy Nietupski and Through the Lens Sports Media / 2020

About the author:  

Andy Nietupski founded Through the Lens Sport Media in 2015 while on a creativity sabbatical from enterprise software sales.  TTL Sports Media helps sports organizations optimize their business results using the latest digital sales and marketing techniques.  TTL Sports Media publishes 1,000’s pieces of content annually and curates a catalog of more than 100,000 items.  On behalf of its client interests TTL Sports Media annually publishes nearly 200 articles and makes greater than 1000 social media posts.