Sports

Brooklyn’s Holder a keeper for first-year F.C. New York

It was a reunion of sorts for Qwame Holder.

After two years of being in the Red Bulls youth system, the Brooklyn resident finally got a chance to play at Red Bull Arena Tuesday night, but did so for visiting F.C. New York in a losing effort in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

“It was great, first time playing in the arena so I was just taking it one step at a time,” Holder said. “It was exciting. I thought we could have won the game so it was kind of disappointing.”

Holder, who played the entire 90 minutes in F.C. New York’s 2-1 loss, was teammates with Matt Kassel and Sacir Hot on the Red Bulls U-20 Academy team that won the USL Super-20 national title in 2009. He also played for the club’s Under-23 squad in the National Premier Soccer League.

“He’s a good player, has loads of potential, obviously games like this can help him, like it can help a lot of us, but he’s athletic, a good kid who works hard and tries to do the right things,” Kassel said of Holder. “As long as he continues to keep things simple, I think he has a future.”

Holder was born in Trinidad, but moved to Brooklyn at the age of 13 and played high school soccer at New Rochelle. He said he received interest from St. John’s and a few other colleges, but wanted to go the professional route.

He had that chance this year with first-year side F.C. New York of the USL Pro league and he’s made the most of the opportunity, becoming a regular in the squad’s midfield.

“I’ve been extremely pleased with him. I think his improvement in three, four months has been immense,” F.C. New York interim coach Paul Shaw said. “His work rate is great, but he’s got a lot of quality as well. It’s just getting to learn day in and day out, which he wants to, his position and learn certain things that happen but games like tonight will be great for him. He’s developed so much. I just hope he continues that development because he’ll be a good player.”

Holder also had the thrill of scoring his first professional goal in a 2-1 win against the Rochester Rhinos on Memorial Day.

“It’s on YouTube so every day I try to look at it,” he said. “And I’m looking for my second one.”

He didn’t score against the Red Bulls Tuesday, but he was active in the midfield. In the 61st minute, he found space and unleashed a low shot that forced Red Bulls goalkeeper Greg Sutton to make a diving stop that he parried away for a corner kick. Ten minutes from full time, Holder again tried his luck from distance, but this time put the potential equalizer over the net.

“I want him to push forward and get in, which he will do, but he understands a bit more now on when to do it and when not to do it,” Shaw said. “I’ve got a lot of faith in him and a lot of hopes he can really play at a good level. I hope he keeps developing because he’s a good lad as well.”

Like many on the USL Pro league squad, Holder has bigger and better aspirations. His first match at Red Bull Arena was nice, but he hopes to doing it again soon, maybe next time with an MLS squad.

“I’m looking forward to maybe getting a call from my national team or get signed to an MLS team,” Holder said. “I’m just taking one day at time and perform every year.”

dbutler@nypost.com