Welcome to NJ Copa FC, Raonne Dias, who joins the squad for the USL2 summer of soccer in New Jersey for USL2. Raonne a midfielder who is originally from Bahia, Brazil joins us from Kean University where he was the top scorer and awarded an All-American and All-Conference Player.
Fernando Barboto, the head coach of NJ Copa said, “Raonne is someone who brings a creative element to the side with lots of the Brazilian flair known as Joga Bonito and he emphasizes beauty, and style in his game. When asked about the upcoming summer Raonne said, “I am excited for what the future holds, so stay tuned.”
The USL 2 comes back to New Jersey as NJ Copa FC returns to the pitch on Saturday, May 21st at Mount Saint Mary’s College against the Hudson Valley Hammers at 7 pm EST. Coming off of a 5-6-3 2021 campaign, the club looks to rebound in 2022 to take all three points in the opening weekend, and get off on the proper foot heading into the summer schedule.
NJ Copa FC will start the season off on the road after the first fixture and head to Fairleigh Dickinson University on Wednesday night to take on the Cedar Stars Rush with an 8 pm EST kickoff for its second game of the season. This match is an important fixture to look at as last year FC Copa was 0-1-1 against the Stars and wants to return the favor this year as they play twice in a matter of a week with NJ Copa FC hosting the Stars Wednesday, June 1.
The June 1st opener is a special day for NJ Copa FC as they host matches this year at St. Joseph’s High School for the 2022 season where they will host 7 matches with the last 6 scheduled games to be at home for Copa as they look to use the home-field advantage to help them finish the end of the season strong.
The USL 2 regular season takes place during the summer months from May to July with each team playing 14 matches against regional competition The top-seeded club and the division's runner up will then have an opportunity to play a team from another division in the playoffs that will take place later in July and continuing to play for a possible USL 2 Championship in early August.