FRISCO - For most MLS players, the week leading up to opening day was filled with practices progressively rising in intensity optimizing them at full fitness when the lights turn on for Saturday night’s showdown. For Jamaican Je-Vaughn Watson, however, it was a much different story.
Watson’s whirlwind week saw him travel around the Caribbean logging massive amounts of both airline miles and minutes on the pitch, a sacrifice he was willing to make to serve his commitment to both club and country.
“I left on [February] 28, played on [March 2], then the fifth. I came back [to Frisco] on the seventh, practiced in the morning and played on the eighth (home opener),” said the Jamaican.
Watson starred for Jamaica in their dominant international friendly wins versus Barbados and St. Lucia, playing 90 minutes in the first match on March 2nd and 70 minutes in the second friendly on March 5th. Watson then proceeded to play wire-to-wire on Saturday March 8th against the Montreal Impact logging 90 minutes for the Hoops en route to their 3-2 victory.
Watch FCD vs SKC at our first Budweiser Party at the Pubs of 2014!
“It was exhausting,” the midfielder said about his 250 minutes of games in three different countries.
Even through all of that, Je-Vaughn put in a hard-working shift on Saturday filling in at multiple positions while stretching the Montreal defense and nearly finding a goal late in the match. While he certainly slept well on Saturday night after the game, Watson said he fed off the energy of the crowd to get through the game.
“It was the first game and everyone was excited to play at the stadium,” said Je-Vaughn.
Next up on the schedule for FC Dallas and Watson is Sporting Kansas City, the defending MLS Cup champions. It will be no easy task. He believes that he and the team will be ready to go for the battle this Saturday regardless of the enemy.
Behind the scenes at David Texeira's media shoot
“I’m excited to play because, to me, every game is important because it’s the next game,” Je-Vaughn emphasized.
FC Dallas fans can expect a spirited effort from this team. It has to be nothing short of solid since this match will be SKC’s MLS home opener for the 2014 season.
“(I) hope this weekend we can come away with a victory, because we have a talented team,” added the Jamaican. “This weekend will be no different (than last weekend). We are going to be going for the win.”
