The demanding nature of Vieira, who led NYCFC to a second-place finish in the MLS Eastern Conference a year ago in his first season in charge at the club, was a major attraction in Okoli signing with the club last December. With a strong group of forwards, led by Villa and 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year finalist Jack Harrison, to compete alongside, Okoli believes he has the right platform to drive his career forward.

“For my ambitions, for what I want to do with my career, I think it’s a perfect fit,” said Okoli. “We harp on winning all the time here, and I have that mentality. I’m just trying to give coach an option and continue to grow as a player and get results at the same time.”

After his brief appearance on Sunday, and with NYCFC now looking ahead to its home opener against D.C. United next Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Okoli said he was ready to push forward and get his name regularly on the scoresheet.

“I’ve always seen myself making an impact in this league,” Okoli said. “I think I have a good shot at doing that this year, I just want to keep going forward, keep moving.”