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Kai Koreniuk makes professional debut for Vitesse
He could have sworn he had heard the time had come to make his professional soccer debut for Vitesse Arnhem. He asked first-team assistant coach John Lammers again to be sure.
“He nodded, 'Yes, be at the club at 4:15 (p.m.) for the team meal,' ” Koreniuk said in a direct message on Twitter. “That's when it hit me.”
The 17-year-old from Ormond Beach and Seabreeze High School entered as a substitute in the 86th minute of Wednesday's friendly against Greek club Asteras Tripoli F.C. He replaced fellow striker Milot Rashica, who scored two goals in the match.
Extremely focused in the moments before trotting onto the field, he did not even notice the reaction of the crowd of 1,312 at the Schuytgraaf in Arnhem, The Netherlands.
“I got more nervous as the day went on,” Koreniuk said. “When it came time to go in, all I was thinking about was going into the game.”
Koreniuk said the experience of playing alongside professionals was better than anticipated. Vitesse went on to win, 3-2.
He expects to play the 2015-16 season with the Under-19 club. Depending on his performance, he may be able to crack the reserve lineup.
Only two Americans play in the Eredivisie, the top Dutch soccer league – Aron Johansson (AZ Alkmaar) and Rubio Rubin (Utrecht). Vitesse finished fifth in the standings last season.
Koreniuk, who would have been entering his senior year at Seabreeze, signed a three-year professional contract last August.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound forward earned a spot on the U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team for the 2014 Open Nordic Tournament in Denmark, scoring the opening goal of a 4-0 victory against the Faroe Islands.
He departed Ormond Beach for the Netherlands during the summer of 2013 for a tryout with the club's youth academy.
In his one season at Seabreeze, in 2012-13, Koreniuk scored 23 goals and added six assists in 13 games. He missed seven games due to injury, but was an All-Area first team selection as the Sandcrabs advanced to the regional semifinal round.
