Med City FC Announces U.S. Open Cup Roster

By Med City FC

Two weeks from today, Med City FC will travel to Des Moines to play in its first-ever Lamar
Hunt U.S. Open Cup match. And while there will be a few familiar names on the Mayhem’s
Open Cup roster, there are also many new faces and a couple old friends. Here’s a look at the
roster for Med City FC’s first-ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game against the Des Moines
Menace in Des Moines on March 25:

The first player to sign up for the Cup was hometown favorite Ayo Adebayo. Having graduated
from Wartburg College last spring, Ayo has finished his college eligibility which made him able
to play in the Cup in March. A college teammate of his at Wartburg, Michael Hegelheimer, will
be joining him. Hegelheimer is originally from Iowa but is now living in Rochester and working
for Hormel in Austin. The two have a long, strong history together.

Several other players from last season’s roster are also going to represent the Mayhem in the Cup
in March. Another local fan favorite Nate Levy, who has been with the team since its inception,
will be suiting up following his recovery from a shoulder injury. Levy was the Mayhem’s
starting goalkeeper in 2018, but a hand injury limited him in 2019.

Jordan Lennon, who is a senior at NCAA Division II Mars Hill University, will be making the
trip to Rochester for the Cup game. Lennon, a talented forward who played for the Mayhem for
the first time last season, was the second player to confirm his participation. Lennon made
several appearances for the team last summer, scoring on a few occasions.

Francisco Neto, last season’s leading scorer, is returning to Rochester to represent the team.
He’s bringing several of his former teammates along with him, including Jorge Martinez de
Septiem, Sergio Sanchez, Rolando Sanchez, and Allan de Silva Costa. Needless to say, Med
City FC’s Cup team will be loaded with Brazilian flair.

Finlay Bloodworth, who played for the team the past two summers, will be making the trip up
from Omaha, Nebraska, along with his former collegiate teammate Renato Silva. Bloodworth is
a senior at Bellevue University this year, while Silva graduated in 2018 and was an assistant
coach at Bellevue this past season.

In a blast from the past, two former players who played for the Rochester Thunder a decade ago
will be representing the team in the Cup. Mark Heath Preston is originally from England and is
the head coach at Bellevue University. Along with his time in Rochester, he also played for the
Des Moines Menace. Kentaro Takada, who played for several seasons with the Minnesota
Thunder during their NASL days, is currently an assistant coach at Life University in Marietta,
Georgia. Heath Preston and Takada have remained in touch with Mayhem head coach Neil
Cassidy over the years, as Cassidy coached them when they were here with the Rochester
Thunder. Both were excited by the opportunity to play.

Coach Cassidy also reached out to his contacts at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota to find
talent in Cardinals men’s head coach Corbin Bowers and assistant coach Erik Casterline.

Bowers played collegiately at NCAA Division II Anderson University in South Carolina, while
Casterline played collegiately at NCAA Division II Frostburg State University and had stints in
the NPSL with the Electric City Shock as well as professionally in Denmark and Sweden. In
addition to raiding the St. Mary’s coaching staff, Cassidy is also bringing in Cardinal senior Josh
Balsiger.

Rounding out the Med City FC roster for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup are two players new to
the team. Kolton Prater is a senior at Hudson High School who played his youth soccer for St.
Croix Academy. Prater will be joining the team for the season after greatly impressing the
coaching staff at the team’s recent tryouts. This fall, Prater will be attending the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he will also play soccer.

The final addition to the team is Mazeed Aro-Lambo. A standout player in Florida as a high
schooler, Aro-Lambo chose to forego the chance to play at NCAA Division I Loyola-Chicago to
pursue his medical career at Big Ten school Northwestern University. He recently moved to
Rochester to start medical school at the Mayo Clinic.

“It’s been a wild ride trying to piece the roster together,” said Med City FC general manager
Frank Spaeth. “We just hope it leads to a memorable ride in the Cup.”

When the United States Soccer Federation decided to change the schedule for the U.S. Open
Cup’s 2020 edition, top amateur teams across the country knew it was going to create some
challenges. This was certainly the case for Med City FC.

“We’re going to work hard to do Rochester proud and, hopefully, cause an upset and move on in
the tournament,” Spaeth said.

Photo Credit: Med City FC