LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Florian Valot '16 made his professional debut with the New York Red Bulls Tuesday night in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Club Tijuana in Mexico. Valot came on at halftime and, 17 minutes into the appearance, he got an assist on Bradley Wright Phillips' second goal. New York won, 2-0. The Red Bulls will play the second leg vs. Tijuana on Tuesday back home at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The Red Bulls open their MLS season
Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. Portland.
Valot signed an MLS contract with New York in December. He joined the senior team after two seasons with NYRB II, the club's USL affiliate.
Valot signed with NYRB II in June of 2016 after an early season trial. He had previously played with the Red Bulls Under-23 team in PDL during the summer of 2015.
Valot had his best season with NYRB II in 2017, tallying career-high marks in games played (32), minutes played (2585), goals (10) and assists (7). In two seasons with Red Bulls II, he has recorded 53 games played with 13 goals and 13 assists over 3,797 minutes played.
A native of Pau, France, Valot spent time in the Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco youth systems before coming the United States for college. He played two seasons at Rider, making 34 appearances while recording 13 goals and six assists. He led the Broncs to a MAAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2015.
