The New England Revolution, fresh off the end of their worst season in over 8 years, are officially rebuilding. Of course that was the story last year as well, when the Revs lost key players like Jeff Larentowicz, Steve Ralston, and Jay Heaps. However, the team was hopeful that they would at least have the services of Taylor Twellman at some point during the season. Unfortunately, Twellman never did return, and the Revolution were left without a proven forward.
Coming off a season where they scored a new record low of just 32 goals, and let in a league high of 50, the Revs are well aware of what their problems are. Fortunately for the Revs, the league has altered the rules expanded the roster size to 30 and increased the salary cap accordingly. Additionally, MLS introduced a new Re-entry draft, allowing teams to select from veteran players who are out of contract.
The Revolution Roster has seen a lot of movement over the past year. Here is a rundown of the player transactions since the end of the season.
PLAYERS OUT
Taylor Twellman – F – Retired. Easily the biggest story of the Revs off-season to date. Concussions and repeated trauma to the head forced the league’s most prolific striker into an early retirement.
Preston Burpo – GK – Option declined. After sustaining a horrific leg injury midway through the season, the veteran goal keeper’s career looked to be over. But despite making a remarkable recovery, the Revs opted to pass on Burpo in favor of the slightly younger Matt Reis. Burpo was not selected in the re-entry draft.
Nico Colaluca – M- Option declined. Chronic injuries kept the former Generation Adidas player from playing meaningful minute, and never really got a chance to show his stuff on the big stage. Colalucawas not selected in the re-entry draft.
Cory Gibbs – D – Option declined. Gibbs was going to cost the team some money if they wanted to re-sign him, so they let him go. He was selected by Chicago in the MLS Re-entry Draft.
Emmanuel Osei – D – Waived. Osei’s unorthodox style always kept fans on their seats, but communication problems with the rest of the defense helped give up a league high 50 goals for the season.
Khano Smith – M – Option declined. Khano is the proverbial bad penny. By letting him go the Revs open up some roster space, but Khano is well liked by Nicol, and something tells me he could be back. Khano was not selected in the re-entry draft.
PLAYERS IN
Didier Domi – D – Free agent. The biggest signing of the off-season for the Revolution so far. Domi, a French international left back who has played for PSG, Leeds, and Newcastle, came in last September for a trial and must have impressed. Not a designated player, but probably a substantial hit on the salary cap.
Diego Fagundez – M – Academy Player, signed as Revs’ first ever “homegrown” player. A standout attacking midfielder who scored goals for both the Revs’ U16 and U18 teams, Fagundez at 15 years old is a huge talent for his age. He probably won’t see much playing time this season, but should feature frequently in reserve games. It will be interesting to see how the Revs’ use Fagundez considering he is still in high school.
Ryan Cochrane – D -Acquired via Re-entry draft. Cochrane’s option was declined by the Houston Dynamo, where Cochrane was a contributing factor in Houston’s back to back MLS Cup wins. Cochrane, who fell out of Houston’s starting rotation due to injury, will likely partner with Darrius Barnes in the Center Back position.
AJ Soares – D – Acquired via SuperDraft, 6th pick overall. Comparisons to Michael Parkhurst have already been drawn to Soares. Soares is quite a bit taller, but word is he is as smart and composed. He could be a surprise starter for the Revs, given Cochrane’s and Barnes’ injury problems. Already signed contract with MLS, he will occupy a spot on the Revs’ senior roster.
Stephen McCarthy – M- Acquired via SuperDraft, 24th pick overall. A true 6′ 4″ box to box midfielder who can also get into the attack. McCarthy could challenge Pat Phelan and 2nd year midfielder Jason Griffeths for a starting spot, but look for McCarthy to get most of his minutes in the Reserve league for his first year. Already signed contract with MLS, he will occupy a spot on the Revs’ senior roster.
Steven Perry – F – Acquired via SuperDraft, 39th pick overall. A lanky forward at 6’0″ tall, Perry was a former state high jump champion. He will hopefully add some aerial prowess to the Revs’ attack. Perry scored 12 goals and added four assists in 20 matches for Notre Dame as a senior, a big jump (no pun intended) from his 3 goals and 5 assists over the previous 45 games.
Ryan Kinne – M/F – Acquired via SuperDraft, 42nd pick overall. Kinne is listed as a “slashie” who won the Northeast Conference Player of the year award while at Monmouth College, scoring 12 goals with 6 assists as a senior (35 and 21 in his collegiate career).
Alan Koger – F – Acquired via SuperDraft, 54th pick overall. Koger comes from William & Mary, who finished with a #9 ranking and a NCAA post season berth in 2010. Koger was a big part of W & M’s offense, where he scored 10 goals in just 22 games.
Hunter Christiansen – D/M – Acquired via Supplemental Draft, 6th pick overall. Listed as a midfielder, Christiansen played defense his senior year at university of Tulsa. He scored nine goals with 11 assists in his 4 year collegiate career (76 games).
Fernando Cabadas– M – Acquired via Supplemental Draft, 24th pick overall. Cabadas started playing soccer in high school, having never played organized youth soccer. He played at the collegiate level as an attacking midfielder for Sacremento State, after securing a spot on the team and a scholarship as a walk-on student athlete. He was a three-time first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection scoring nine goals with 19 assists in 78 career games.
Andrew Sousa – M – Acquired via Supplemental Draft, 42nd pick overall. A local boy from Fall River, MA, Sousa scored seven goals and added six assists in three seasons at Providence College after playing one season at Limestone College (S.C.).
So overall, the Revs lost 1 Goalkeeper, 2 Defenders, 2 Midfielders and 1 Forward, bringing the roster down to 18. In turn they added 4 Defenders, 4 Midfielders, and 3 forwards through various drafts, bringing it back up to 29. Not everyone will make the team however, as there are Player constraints on the roster. 6 spots on the team are reserved for players under age 24, and will not count on the teams salary cap. Teams can also sign as many homegrown players as they would like, of which the Revolution has signed one in Diego Fagundez, and potentially will add a former Revs U-18 player, Akron midfielder and NCAA Collegiate Cup holder Scott Caldwell, in time. But as Domi, Cochrane, Soares and McCarthy are all under contract, the Revs, if they retain the existing roster, will only have 2 open roster spots for non developmental players. Whether or not the revs retain the remaining players from 2010 – Linck, Boggs, Murray, and Griffeths are all unsigned – remains to be seen. However, the Revs will likely use one of the spots for a third goalkeeper in Murray, and potentially, a designated player. One thing is for sure, there will be plenty of competition in the Revs training camp beginning at the end of the month.
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