Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Union set roster; waive ZImmerman, Noone

Philadelphia Union have complied with Major League Soccer regulations by submitting their roster, in accordance with the League’s March 1 Roster Compliance Deadline.  The Union today announced the signing of goalkeeper Thorne Holder and midfielder Ryan Richter.  Former Temple University midfielder J.T. Noone and forward Nick Zimmerman have been waived.  Per MLS and club’s policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

Holder joins the Union from Adelphi University, but he also spent time at the University of Maryland under Goalkeeper Coach Rob Vartughian.  The 24-year old ranks second on Adelphia’s career shutout list (19) and fourth on the career wins list with 30.  Ranked in the top 23 in the nation in GAA in 2009 and 2010, the Trinidadian goalkeeper was named First-Team All-ASC and Co-Defensive MVP of the ASC Tournament, as well as to the NSCAA North Atlantic Second-Team in 2010.

Though Richter was drafted by the Union in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft, he did not sign a guaranteed contract.  SuperDraft selections Zac MacMath and Michael Farfan signed contracts with Major League Soccer prior to being picked up by the Union on January 13th.

Since the Union’s season ended on October 24, 2010, the club has made 23 transactions, including 11 acquisitions and 12 losses. Philadelphia boasts an entirely new set of goalkeepers, led by experienced Colombian international Faryd Mondragón, after the club parted ways with Chris Seitz and Brad Knighton in the offseason.

The Union has also revamped their offensive corps, adding a young forward in Chris Agorsor and former MLS MVP Carlos “El Pescadito” Ruiz to complement Le Toux and Mwanga up top.

The Union continue to add domestic talent with several international additions, including ‘keepers Mondragon (Colombia) and Holder (Trinidad & Tobago), defender Carlos Valdés (Colombia) and forward Ruiz (Guatemala). Only three of these new additions count against the eight international roster spots the club has available. Including current internationals Roger Torres and Juan Diego González Alzate, both Colombians, Philadelphia is using a total of five international spots, leaving three places still remaining for future acquisitions.
Raised in Southampton, Pa., Richter starred at nearby La Salle University, where he was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as a senior.  In four seasons, Richter amassed 28 goals and 13 assists for 69 points and was voted NSCAA Third Team All Region and Philadelphia Soccer Six Player of the Year (2009).

The Union have also waived two players today, the team’s first local product, Noone, and one of Nowak’s original expansion draft selections, Zimmerman.  After training for six months with the Union and splitting time with Philadelphia’s club affiliate, Noone played the second half of the Union’s first ever international friendly against Irish powerhouse Celtic F.C. on July 14, 2010.  In college, Noone was the first Temple Soccer athlete to earn All-American honors in 22 years with his selection to the NSCAA Second Team All-America squad in 2008.

Acquired by Team Manager Peter Nowak in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft from the New York Red Bulls, Zimmerman debuted with the Union on April during the team’s first ever home game and victory. The forward started one of the eight matches he played, logging a total of 159 minutes on the pitch.

IN:                                                                               OUT:
Name: Thorne Holder                                                 Name:J.T. Noone
Position: Goalkeeper                                                   Position: Midfielder
Birthday: April 4, 1986                                              Birthdate: June 17, 1988
Birthplace: Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago            Birthplace:Harrisburg, Pa.
Height: 6-4                                                                  Height:6-0
Weight: 183                                                                Weight:160
Previous Club: Adelphi                                              Previous Club: Temple
Pronunciation: Thorne Holder                                    Pronunciation: J.T. Noon

Name: Ryan Richter                                                    Name:Nick Zimmerman
Position: Forward                                                        Position: Forward
Birthday: April 12, 1989                                            Birthdate: May 3, 1987
Birthplace: Southampton, Pa.                                     Birthplace:Tampa, Fla.
Height: 6-2                                                                  Height:6-0
Weight:175                                                                Weight:185
Previous Club: La Salle University                             Previous Club: New York Red Bulls
Pronunciation: Ryan Rick-ter                                     Pronunciation: Nick Zimm-er-man


PHILADELPHIA UNION OFFSEASON TRANSACTIONS:

Acquisition:
Date                        Sta.      Player                      Pos.     Last Club                       Transaction
11/22/2010              S          Brian Carroll             MF       Columbus Crew              Conditional 2nd Round 2011
                                                                                                                                SuperDraft pick and allocation money
12/22/2010              S          Zach Pfeffer             MF       FC Delco                        First Homegrown Player
01/11/2011              GA       Zac MacMath            GK       UMD College Park          2011 MLS SuperDraft (#5 overall)
01/11/2011              S          Michael Farfán         MF       UNC Chapel Hill            2011 MLS SuperDraft (#23 overall)
01/18/2011              S          Ryan Richter             MF       La Salle University         2011 MLS Supplemental Draft
01/20/2011              I           Faryd Mondragón     GK       FC Cologne (Germany)   Free transfer
01/20/2011              I           Carlos Valdés           DF       Indep. Santa Fe               Free transfer
                                                                                         (Colombia)
02/14/2011              S          Chris Agorsor           FW       UVA                               MLS weighted lottery
02/22/2011              S          Carlos Ruiz               FW       Aris F.C. (Greece)           Free transfer
03/01/2011              I           Thorne Holder          GK       Adelphi University         ---

Out:
Date                        Sta.      Player                      Pos.     Next Club                       Transaction
11/24/2010              S          Shea Salinas              MF       Vancouver Whitecaps     2010 Expansion Draft (#8 overall)
11/24/2010              S          Alejandro Moreno    FW       Vancouver Whitecaps     2010 Expansion Draft (#14 overall)
                                                                                         Chivas USA                    Trade
12/16/2010              S          Chris Seitz                GK       FC Dallas                        2010 Re-Entry Draft
12/16/2010              S          Fred                          MF       NE Revolution                2010 Re-Entry Draft
                                                                                         D.C. United                    Rights traded
01/14/2011              I           Toni Stahl                 DF       ---                                   Option Declined
01/25/2011              S          Brad Knighton          GK       ---                                   Waived
02/08/2011              S          Cristian Arrieta         DF       ---                                   Waived
02/14/2011              I           Eduardo Coudet        MF       ---                                   Waived
02/18/2011              S          Andrew Jacobson     MF       FC Dallas                        Traded for Dallas’ 2nd Round pick of
                                                                                                                                2013 SuperDraft
03/01/2011              S          J.T. Noone                MF       ---                                   Waived
03/01/2011              S          Nick Zimmerman      FW       ---                                   Waived

PHILADELPHIA UNION 2011 ROSTER:

#    Name                                    Pos   Ht     Wt    Age  Birthplace                                 Last Club                            Status

1    Faryd Mondragón                 GK    6-3    207   39     Cali, Colombia                          FC Cologne                         I
2    Jordan Harvey                      DF    5-11  170   27     Mission Viejo, Calif.                 Colorado Rapids                 S
3    Juan Diego González            DF    6-0    160   30     Medillín, Colombia                   Deportivo Pereira                I
4    Danny Califf                        DF    5-11  175   30     Montclair, Calif.                        FC Midtjylland                    S     
5    Carlos Valdes                       DF    6-0    176   25     Cali, Colombia                          Independiente Santa Fe       I
6    Stefani Miglioranzi               MF    6-1    160   33     Pocos de Caldas, Brazil             LA Galaxy                          S
7    Brian Carroll                         MF    5-10  155   29     Springfield, Va.                         Columbus Crew                  S
8    Roger Torres                         MF    5-5    140   19     Barrancabermeja, Colombia      América de Cali                  I
9    Sebastien Le Toux                FW    6-0    165   27     Mont-Saint-Aignan, France       Seattle Sounders FC            S
10  Danny Mwanga                    FW    6-2    175   19     Kinshasa, D.R. of Congo          Oregon State                        GA
12  Chris Agorsor                       FW    5-9    145   21     Severn, Md.                               Virginia                               GA
13  Kyle Nakazawa                    MF    5-11  165   22     Torrance, Calif.                         UCLA                                 S
14  Amobi Okugo                       MF    6-0    175   19     Hayward, Calif.                         UCLA                                 GA
18  Zac MacMath                        GK    6-2    176   19     St. Petersburg, Fla.                     Maryland                             GA
19  Jack McInerney                    FW    5-8    155   18     Chattanooga, Tenn.                   U-17 National Team            GA
20  Carlos Ruiz                           FW    5-9    145   31     Guatemala City, Guatemala       Aris FC                                S
21  Michael Farfan                     MF    5-9    160   22     San Diego, Calif.                       UNC                                    S
22  Justin Mapp                          MF    6-1    160   26     Brandon, Miss.                          Chicago Fire                        S
23  Ryan Richter                         M/F   6-2    175   21     Southampton, Pa.                      La Salle University              S
24  Thorne Holder                      GK    6-4    183   24     Port of Spain, Trinidad              Adelphi University              S
25 Sheanon Williams                 D/M  5-11  170   20     Boston, Mass.                            Harrisburg City Islanders     S
27  Zach Pfeffer                         MF    5-7    140   16     Dresher, Pa.                               FC Delco                             S

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