FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When Wilson Harris first arrived in New England last month, it was his first time ever stepping foot in Massachusetts. Growing up on the West Coast, Harris may be far from his hometown of Los Angeles, California, but he says he instantly felt a sense of home here. He’s settled in quickly, and it’s all thanks to the guys he’s met in the Revolution locker room.
“It’s a very organized group and everyone is together and on the same page. I feel like it has been easy for me to come into that, because I know my role. It feels like a new home,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect about Boston, but so far it’s been an awesome city.”
Harris’ arrival couldn’t have come at a better time, joining the Revs during the unique leaguewide break amidst the FIFA World Cup. For most, joining a squad midseason usually requires time to integrate in the middle of regular season action, but the break allowed Harris to have some semblance of a preseason. Over the past five weeks, the Revolution have used the break to train and prepare for the second half of the season, giving him a valuable opportunity to settle in with the group.
As he explained, he quickly felt at home in New England, and he’s already proved it on the pitch. Starting in a friendly match against Philadelphia Union over the break, it took the forward just two minutes to score his first goal in a Revolution jersey. And in his first regular season match available for the team, Harris made his Revolution debut against Toronto FC.
“I think I’m very hardworking, technical, have a nose for the goal, and can read the game well,” Harris said when asked to describe his qualities as a player. “I think Marko (Mitrović) and I are on the same page. He pushes me to be better and that’s what I want, to help the team, but also grow as a player.”
Harris joins the Revolution after two seasons in the Israeli Premier League, scoring 10 goals in 33 combined appearances for both Maccabi Petah Tikva and Maccabi Netanya. Prior to his experience overseas, the former Sporting Kansas City Homegrown played three seasons in the USL Championship with Louisville City FC, where he landed a spot in club history as one of their top five all-time goal scorers with 46 goals in 107 matches across all competitions.
Harris’ arrival to the Revolution is a return to MLS. Joining SKC’s academy at 18, he worked his way up from their second team to the first team, logging nine MLS appearances in 2021. For Harris, the experience overseas pushed him as a player and helped him develop as a pro, but there was no better time to come back stateside than now.
“With the World Cup happening, there's so much hype around U.S. soccer and just soccer in the United States in general. So, I think it's a perfect time to come back to MLS. I was pushing for it,” Harris explained. “The sport is really growing in the states and it’s just super exciting. I think it will only continue to grow.”
Although New England is still far from his California roots, the move brought Harris closer to family in a meaningful way. With a 10-hour time difference between Netanya and Los Angeles, Harris’ move more than cuts it in half. With his family now only three hours behind his schedule, it makes those post-training FaceTime calls a lot easier and gives his family more chances to watch him play; Harris hopes they will have plenty of opportunities to do so.
After living on the other side of the world, the 26-year-old was ready to be closer to home again. He didn’t know where that next opportunity would come from, but when New England called, he was ready to answer.
With two home games opening the Revolution’s return to league play, Harris has already started to log MLS minutes with his new club, and he gets to do so in front of the Foxborough faithful at Gillette Stadium.
“So much history has happened in that stadium, and I just love the environment. Hopefully I get the chance to play and hopefully we win. I’m just so excited to get started,” he said.
