Orlando City B Player Spotlight: Mikey Ambrose

After finding out that the Austin Aztex would be cancelling the upcoming season due to lacking a stadium that meets United Soccer League standards, Mikey Ambrose's career was in question.

But it didn't take long for Ambrose to figure out where he was going to play next season.

Less than a month after finding out he needed to find a new team, Ambrose was announced as one of the first three signings for Orlando City B as the club announced it is rejoining the USL.

"I think this is a great step in my career," Ambrose said. "The coaching staff is some of the best coaches. They have so much experience and so much to teach us. I'm looking forward to learning from them on a daily basis and improving every day."

Ambrose, a Frisco, Texas native, had spent most of his career in his home state, playing as an FC Dallas academy member, starting in 2009, before going off to the University of Maryland in 2012. After the 2014 season at Maryland, Ambrose chose to forego his senior season and turn pro and sign with Austin, and ended his affiliation with FC Dallas after talks with the club broke down.

At Maryland, Ambrose started 69 of 71 games in his three season and scored one goal and had 15 assists. After signing Ambrose to Austin, Aztex then-manager Paul Dalglish called Ambrose "the best left back in college soccer."

The 5-foot-9 left back was a fixture with the Aztex, playing more than 1,500 minutes in 18 appearances in league play. Some thought he may make the jump to the MLS before now — he was touted as a possible first-round draft pick had he entered the MLS draft — so he could potentially be a player the club has in mind that will be on the fast track to the first team.

"My goal in the near future is to play for Orlando City, and who knows from there," Ambrose said.

Ambrose was also part of the U.S. youth national teams at the U-17, U-18 and U-20 levels, which has helped allow him to travel to 16 countries before his 23rd birthday. He also helped the Terps to a pair of College Cup appearances and conference tournament titles in both the ACC and Big Ten. He was named to the All-ACC second team twice and made the All-Big Ten team in his junior season after the school switched conferences.

Ambrose joins a team that has full intentions of playing identical styles to the MLS first team, and after training with the first team since coming over, he said he will be able to play the style that fits him best.

"Level is very high and the style of play fits me perfectly," Ambrose said. "It's possession-based. Everybody is very technical, we like to keep the ball and attack a lot. All of those qualities fit me pretty well."