Cassidy Benintente will be available to play for Sky Blue when it hosts the Washington Spirit. (Jeffrey Auger Photo)

Sky Blue FC announced Thursday the team has signed defender Cassidy Benintente to its active roster as a national team replacement player.

The New Jersey native will be available Friday when Sky Blue FC hosts the Washington Spirit at Yurcak Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“Cassidy is a versatile player who is capable of contributing in a variety of ways,” Sky Blue FC head coach Denise Reddy said. “She understands the way that we want to play as a team, and she will be a welcome addition to our roster this weekend.”

Benintente, 23, is in her second professional season after playing with Sky Blue FC during the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League campaign. She is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she played alongside Sky Blue FC defender Erica Skroski and forward Madison Tiernan. They were members of a Scarlet Knights side that reached the NCAA College Cup Final Four in 2015, the most successful season in program history. Benintente played for Sky Blue FC academy partner PDA and also won two Region I championships while representing New Jersey ODP.

Sky Blue FC has six players on international duty. Midfielder Carli Lloyd and forward Savannah McCaskill are with the U.S. women’s national team, forwards Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon are with Canada, midfielder Thaisa is with Brazil and defender Rebekah Stott is with New Zealand.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.