Scardina: "Someone told me, 'If you can guard Zaha, you have a place in this league' "
- Sam Vanolinda
- 3 minutes ago
- 11 min read
By Sam Vanolinda
Nick Scardina is a player on the rise for Charlotte FC. From the same SuperDraft class as Nathan Privett and Patrick Agyemang, Scardina made his debut start for Charlotte FC against San Diego, and was impressive.
Scardina was confident on the ball, willing to overlap and get forward, made smart passes, and held off Mexican legend Hirving Lozano. He did not look like a 23-year-old in his first start for the first team.
Born in Portland, Scardina began his career with the Timbers academy and was a decorated college player at the University of Washington, where he played as a winger in his early career.
When Charlotte FC selected him with the 40th pick in 2023, he began transitioning into a right back as he developed for Crown Legacy FC.
Scardina made his debut in 2024 in the club's 3-1 win against FC Cincinnati on July 13th and has since made two starts for the club this season, following Nathan Byrne’s injury, which has moved him up in the depth chart.
I was fortunate enough to be able to have a chat with Scardina about his recent success, his football inspirations, and much more:
(Quotes lightly edited for clarity. Questions and conversation took place before last week's loss to New England.)
SV: How did it feel to make your debut against San Diego in front of that home crowd? How do you think the team played, and how do you think you played?
NS: Obviously, an amazing night, to go out there and get a 3-0 win that was the number one priority. Having that game as my first experience, with the first team, I made my debut last year, but it wasn’t that much time. That was a great experience, but this was a completely different monster. My mentality heading into it? I just wanted to go out there and show what I was about; I mentioned that after the game in the pressers as well. I just wanted to use it as an opportunity to go out there and express myself. I’d never really got that opportunity with the first team; it was more games with Legacy that I got to show myself, so that game and that night was something that I’m never going to forget. The crowd, just being out there, it was awesome; a great experience.
SV: There were three other SuperDraft picks from 2023 playing in that game, one with San Diego. How cool was it to play with those guys after being drafted with them, growing up through the system with them, and then getting to play with them in your first start?
NS: It was awesome. Not many people have the opportunity to do that. Those are some of my closest friends on the team; they’ve been with me since day one, we all came in together, formed those relationships. To see where we are at now, it's just amazing, honestly. You won't find another club with that kind of investment from the front office, that belief in their players, and then having it pay off in the way that it has for Charlotte FC. It comes down to believing in ourselves. What makes that draft class so special is that we all came in and had that belief in ourselves. We all knew that we had the ability to make it to the first team. Based on those first couple of Crown Legacy games, we could see the talent. To see that growth to where we are now, it's amazing to see. Looking back at that moment, we talked about it before the game, like ‘we are all going to be on the field together, what an awesome moment,’ it's really, really was cool. `
SV: I want to switch a little bit and talk about your youth career. You grew up in Portland, played for Washington, what was the soccer culture like up there growing up, and how much did that help you develop as a player?
NS: I played academy at Portland from eighth grade to my senior year of high school. I was in the mix for the T2 squad in the USL Championship at the time, actually, Eryk Williamson was on my team as well, so I had that funny connection. The youth system in Portland was really good; I had coaches who really believed in me, I didn’t really have it easy over there. I was on B-teams. I don't want to say I wasn’t taken seriously early on, but I wasn’t one of those top players that they were looking to push to sign as a homegrown. I had a slower start in my development, took that time to really improve and build that chip on my shoulder, form my identity as a player. I think that all formulated to when I got here, college was a great experience, I'm so happy I went to the University of Washington and got to develop over there in College. It was mainly at the right wing; I think I played one game at right back in all of college. I knew at some point if I wanted to play professional soccer in MLS, I was going to have to make that switch to right back, just because being a young American winger in MLS is such a hard thing to do. I felt like I had those qualities to switch to right back, so after college I had that winger experience, that attacking mindset locked down, but never really had that defensive experience yet, and Charlotte when they drafted me, they told me that they wanted to move me over to right back and to give me that experience. And Jose, the coach of legacy at the time, really worked with me and helped me adjust to the position and get those reps in. Overall, my youth career all formulated to when I got here, in terms of forming my identity in those years in Portland and Washington, taking bits and pieces from every year and every system that I'd been in.
SV: Growing up, who were some of your biggest footballing inspirations? What players would you compare your game to? Who were you watching when you were growing up?
NS: Growing up, I didn’t really watch much soccer. I was big in playing all sports growing up, I played basketball, flag football, soccer. My parents didn’t really know too much about sports in general. I was playing rec soccer until about 7th grade, until they switched me over to club. I was playing striker at the time and was scoring too many goals; the games weren’t fun anymore. I switched over to club. I wasn’t really watching soccer growing up, I began to watch more soccer when I got into High School and then into college as well, watching those Prem games. I think Kyle Walker was a really fun player to watch when he was at Tottenham. He really had that attacking mindset. Looking back on it now, I don't know if I’m as fast as him, but the way he plays the game defensively, his communication, and the way he would go forward as well, he is someone I tried to model my game after.
SV: You had your first start Saturday, so fans are just getting to know you as a player. From your perspective, what would you say your strengths are, and what are you looking to improve as the season goes on?
NS: I think my strength is my engine. Building that fitness up now to get to the point I want to be. Flying up and down the right side is something that is a big part of my game. Going forward, offering that support to the winger. One of my big strengths is my passing and crossing ability as well. Something that I’ve been working on is my defensive principles; It's not easy coming from being a winger and then converting to a full right back instead of a right wing back in a five-back, nailing those defensive principles, down. 1v1 defending is something I work on every day and focus on. I really model my game off of my ability to attack and be an extra man in that attack going forward.
SV: Playing winger in college and transitioning to right back. What are some more of the challenges you faced, and what have you learned from guys with a lot of experience on the team, like Nathan Byrne and Tim Ream?
NS: I think it’s just the defensive principles of how Dean wants to play. It was really tough for me at the beginning to nail down the principles of the 1v1 defending. It was really hard for me to flip the script. I had always been used to being on the attack, going at people, I’d never been used to being on my back foot, someone driving at me. What really helped me get better in those situations was focusing on every moment, it really matters, your positioning, where you are showing the attacker, all those little things really matter. Once I nailed that down, I brought them into training. Watching Nathan and Tim and even Jaylen from last year. Watching them every day really helped me grow in the area of 1v1 defending, the shifting over with the team, watching along the line. Watching those things every day in training has really helped me. Making that active effort to implement it into what I'm doing. It's only going to do so much watching what they are doing. They are really experienced players who are here for a reason and have played at the level they have for a reason. Implementing what they are doing is obviously going to make me a better player. Seeing what they were doing, implementing it, and having those conversations with them to take it even further. ‘What would I do in this situation? Am I doing this right?’ has helped me as well.
SV: Dean Smith has come into the team and changed things around. First in the East right now, eight straight wins at home. We see on the cameras what Dean Smith is like, but behind the scenes, how much has he changed the culture at the club? How cool is it to have such an experienced manager, and to learn from him as well?
NS: It’s really cool to have an experienced manager. The cameras see Dean on gameday, and he’s really focused on the game. Around the training pitch, he is always joking around, making people feel welcome. Keeping those good vibes going. It’s pure work once we are on the training pitch. Everyone knows you have to focus, and it’s a place to get better. It's really awesome to have someone setting that standard, and always raising it. We’ve been winning recently, but obviously, it's early in the season, we have to keep raising our standards. I think everyone on the team knows that, and raising those standards is what's going to set us apart from everyone else. That’s something Dean has said as well, keeping standards high, keep raising them, and that's how we're going to get better.
SV: You developed a lot at Crown Legacy, the Club has put a lot of effort into their youth academies, and it has paid off so far. What do you think about that investment, and how much did Crown Legacy help you as a player?
NS: You can see that a lot of different MLS teams use that Next-Pro team in very different ways. Whether it’s using it for a bunch of draft picks, or using it for people that they sign, or just academy kids. A lot of teams use it in different ways. Charlotte FC and Crown Legacy have used it in the right way, helping players have a platform to build their identity. It’s not just about winning in that league; it's more about developing and giving players a platform. Whether they’re young, coming out of college, everyone is coming from different places. The pitch in that game is not so much used as a proving ground, but as an opportunity to show yourself and build that identity. Coming out of college, I feel like I didn't have my identity nailed down of who I was as a player. Crown Legacy gave me that opportunity to grow and to find my footing as a pro soccer player. Coming in every day, working, training, and playing games all year round, it’s very different from the college system. Once I was able to nail down who I was as a player, I was able to grow, improve, and I definitely credit Crown Legacy, the staff that I had down there, and all those teammates I had as well, credit them a lot for how I am as a player now.
SV: The team’s first in the East, yet a lot of the players have talked about not playing to their full potential as a team. Once this team is in full stride, what are your expectations as the season goes on?
NS: I think the sky is the limit, honestly. With the team that we have now, you look at our team, the amount of talent that we have. Just those depth pieces that are ready to step up whenever. We have a really good bench, a really good starting eleven. A lot of hungry guys that are wanting to show themselves. That's the best part of being on a team like this, your performances have got to do the talking. If it’s not cutting it, there are other guys ready to step up and go. That's how teams get better and how teams make it to that postseason with a really good record and a really good feeling heading in. They have guys ready to step up, pushing that starting eleven. I think heading into the mid-season, it's just going to be really important for us to keep going, pushing each other in training. The sky's the limit for sure, with the amount of talent we have.
SV: The team signed Zaha in the offseason. What’s it like guarding and marking him in training? He’s a guy who's played in Europe, played for Palace for so many years, scoring so many goals. How much have you learned about becoming a right-back guarding him in training?
NS: It’s been a really crazy experience. Especially those first couple of trainings when he came. He was a player that I would watch as well. It’s made me a way better player, coming up against a 1v1 specialist like him. Almost every day in training, we would be going against each other. Getting those reps in against him has really helped me as a player. On a water break, someone told me, " If you can guard Zaha, you have a place in this league.” He’s one of the best 1v1 players in the world. That sticks out to me, using that opportunity every day in training, if I can guard this guy, I can guard anyone. I really use those reps to grow. I might make a mistake here and there, he might get past me, but learning from that is huge.
SV: First start last weekend, but you’ve been to all these games in Charlotte. How much does the atmosphere and level of support you get from the fans give you a boost? Can’t stop winning at home, so obviously, there is a level of confidence that the crowd gives you every game. Can you speak about how incredible it is to play at Bank of America Stadium in front of those fans?
NS: It was amazing, I can’t even describe the feeling. I had energy the whole game, until I didn’t (subbed off with a slight injury). It was amazing, I remember throughout the game hearing the fans saying “Scardina, you are doing great, Scardina, keep going!” Hearing that encouragement from fans on the side of the field gave me that energy, that drive to keep going; it was an experience I will never forget. It was amazing, walking out before the national anthem, the Pepas as well, it’s something I'll never forget, it was amazing.
Nick demonstrated throughout our conversation how ready he is to learn and grow as a young player in this league. That mindset is what develops players into stars.
Playing as a winger may make him more attacking-minded in a right-back role, but he also knows what it’s like to be in the mind of an attacking player. This will help him anticipate the actions of the wingers he faces throughout the year.
With Byrne’s unfortunate injury, we will get to see Scardina get the opportunity to prove himself and make a case for a permanent starting position in the squad. I, for one, am excited to see what he can do.
