Ariel Lassiter appears to be following in his father’s footsteps to MLS.
A report out of Costa Rica has Lassiter, the son of the legendary Roy Lassiter (pictured above), who set the single-season MLS record with 27 goals in the 1996 season, which has since been tied by Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips, signing with the LA Galaxy to play with their USL PRO side Galaxy II. The 20-year-old forward announced the news on his Instagram account.
"I'm very happy to have been signed by the LA Galaxy, and that I'll be on the team trying to reach MLS,” Lassiter told the Costa Rican website Sports By Campbell. “I will be with Galaxy II, I will be playing games and training with them. Getting to the first team is a process, and I'm still very young. I'm 20 years old and I have a lot to learn. They are trying to help me to get to the first team as quickly as possible and I feel I'm ready, but I have to show that."
Lassiter, who was born in Costa Rica, grew up in Southern California, and spent his first professional season – following a year at Cal Poly – with Swedish second-tier side GAIS, where he scored a goal in 12 appearances. The 20-year-old forward has dual US and Costa Rican eligibility and will train with the Costa Rican U-23s in January, per interviewer Juan Carlos Agüero. However, Lassiter has indicated that he is in touch with both national teams:
The elder Lassiter, an MLS original who spent nine years in the league from 1996 to 2002, played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny, D.C. United, Miami Fusion and Kansas City Wizards, scoring 88 goals in 179 games. His record year with the Mutiny in 1996 stood until Wondolowski tied it in 2012, a feat later followed up by Wright-Phillips in 2014.
"Having my dad's name is great, not a lot of players have that – everything that has happened to me in soccer has come from him,” Lassiter said. “I've learned everything from him; but to do what he has done in soccer would be a blessing, if I get close to what he was as a player I would be very happy and I will work to be like him.
"I'm always asking him what I can do to get better."
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