The defender has started in the club's two most recent clean sheets

Photo credit: Uwe Welz/FC Edmonton

FC Edmonton traveled to Shuart Stadium last weekend to face the New York Cosmos, the team’s lone NASL regular-season match there this year, and the contest marked the second consecutive start for center back Karsten Smith, who has been impressive when called upon since joining the Eddies earlier in the Fall Season.

Back among head coach Colin Miller’s starting lineup in the Eddies’ most recent pair of matches, Smith has played a crucial role in the league’s top defensive unit, comprised of Adam Eckersley, Shawn Nicklaw, and captain Albert Watson.

“I showed up and did well the first week that I was here and I’ve just been working since then,” Smith said. “An opportunity arose and the coaches decided to put me into the team and I’m glad that I could help the team get two clean sheets in a row.”

Smith doesn’t get wrapped up in the team’s upcoming schedule, which features three more games in just eight days, beginning next Saturday in Carolina.

“I’m focusing on one game at at time,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m focusing on doing my job and helping the team not have goals scored against us, helping Matt [VanOekel] out as much as possible and helping to keep it organized in front of him. That’s how you have to approach it down the stretch. There’s eight games left and every game is a playoff game at this moment.”

Last weekend’s match carried a little extra weight for Smith, who hails from New York. The 6-foot-3 defender found himself playing in front of friends and family less than half an hour from where he grew up, something that hasn’t happened often in his professional career.

“I’ve probably only played in front of them twice in the last two or three years,” Smith said. “It’s nice because when I was growing up my family used to take me to every game. Especially because I played in Europe for awhile so they weren’t able to go to those games, so it’s nice. I was able to play in front of my parents and some of my youth coaches as well.”