Cody Laurendi and Atiba Harris will step onto the pitch on September 9 in front of thousands of fans, like they have done many times this year – only this time it’ll be as opponents. Laurendi will be representing the Puerto Rico national team and Harris will be captaining his home country of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the qualifying rounds of the newly-formed CONCACAF Nations League.

Laurendi will be making his second appearance with Puerto Rico after keeping a clean sheet in his debut last year in a friendly match against Indonesia, and Energy FC’s no. 1 feels the stakes this time around make this call up even more special.

“I think it will be an even better experience than the first time knowing that there is Gold Cup qualification on the line. We have lofty goals as a national team and knowing that we have something to play for rather than it just being a friendly is going to amplify the experience.”

Harris, a 15-year veteran of the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team, has represented his country at every level since U-13. Since this match will take place in Basseterre, the capital city of his home country, there’s an extra level of importance representing and playing in front of his home fans – many of which will be friends and family.

“It’s always an honor representing your country. You represent your family and basically your heritage. Every moment means a lot. You put on the national team jersey and become an ambassador for everyone who is of Saint Kitts and Nevis heritage.

“It was always a dream, from the time I was a little boy, to play for the national team, and I was honored to do that from an early age. That was definitely a dream that came true for me. Ever since then, I’ve been appreciative of every call up.”

In 2012, Harris received the ultimate honor for his national team: being named captain.

“I’ve always been a leader. I’m quiet but I speak when I need to. I’ve always had this leadership quality about me even though I haven’t always seen it. In school, teachers would tell me that people look up to me, but as a youngster, you’re kind of like ‘whatever.’ As I grew older and gained more experience, I finally started to notice that I might have the qualities to help people along.”

Over the past 15 years, Harris has been fortunate to experience some memories that will last a lifetime.

“I have a lot because I’ve been able to share so many moments with my teammates, many of which I grew up with. A couple of years ago, we were able to go to Europe and play Andorra and win. And even though they aren’t the biggest of nations, it was a huge thing winning the first game on European soil for our nation.”

Laurendi and Harris have only the nicest things to say about one another, but during the 90 minutes on September 9, they’ll have to set their friendship aside. “It’s going to be interesting,” Harris said. I have huge respect for Cody. He is a fantastic human being and goalkeeper. It’s going to be a friendly battle, but at the same time, it’s my country and his country he is representing, so I’m pretty sure during the game we’re not going to be best friends, but after the game, we’ll probably be on the same flight back!

When asked about looking for an edge in the match and how he liked their chances, Harris added with a chuckle, “I’ve already been scoping him out in training – I’m gonna look for anything! I think it’s going to be a good matchup. In the Caribbean, anything can happen and any team can win on any given day.”

Laurendi was equally complimentary saying, “I think the world of Atiba. He is such a professional and such a nice human being.” When asked about whether or not he’d have any kind of advantage after playing with Harris, Cody said, “If there is a weakness, I haven’t seen it. We know we have our work cut out for us. Most of our players are Puerto Rican league players, but we do have a couple of guys in (Rio Grande Valley FC goalkeeper) Matt Sanchez  and (Sacramento Republic midfielder) Jeremy Hall that play in the USL, so we’re hoping to bring that experience to the national team.”

For both players, all eyes are on getting the points and taking another step towards qualifying for the 2019 Gold Cup. It’s no secret that the exposure the Gold Cup brings can help bolster a career.

“The plan is to ultimately get there and help put everyone in the shop window. We know how big of a tournament the Gold Cup is and how much exposure it brings,” Laurendi said.

While both guys realize that now isn’t the most ideal time to leave their club, Harris is confident the Greens can get the job done without them.

“It’s always a little bittersweet [being selected] because without playing for the club, you can’t get called up,” Harris said. “But then it’s a huge honor to represent your country. It says a lot about Energy FC having three guys get called up. That’s huge for the club. But we have a deep enough squad for the guys to handle things while we are away.”

Laurendi echoed the sentiments, adding, “From the first guy to the last guy on our roster, we are extremely competent, and I have no doubt that they will get the job done in our absence.”

Despite some good-natured banter from their club teammates about leaving, Laurendi said that it can only be a good thing and there are no hard feelings towards them.

“They jokingly ask how we could be ‘abandoning’ them at a time like this, but we really have an extremely supportive locker room in our accomplishments on and off the pitch, and I know the boys are genuinely happy for us,” Laurendi said. "Nothing but good can come out of experiences like this, and we are going to bring what we learn and those positive experiences back to OKC and continue pushing on for the rest of the season.”