Union Academy sends 21 players to college level

Players still eligible for MLS Home Grown player contracts
February 9, 2012
philadelphiaunion.com

21 members of the Union Academy have announced their commitments to the college level.

The players are still eligible to be signed to Home Grown contracts as long as they continue to meet MLS standards while in college.

Per the 2011 MLS Roster Rules, "a club may sign a player to his first professional contract without subjecting him to the MLS SuperDraft if the player has trained for at least one year in the club’s youth development program and has met League criteria."

There is no limit to the number of Home Grown players a club may sign in a given year. The Union currently have two: 17-year-old midfielder Zach Pfeffer and 18-year-old midfielder Jimmy McLaughlin.

"I'm extremely happy to see so many of our Union Academy players committing to continue their soccer-playing careers at some of the top schools in the nation," said Union youth technical director Alecko Eskandarian. "As we all know, not every player is fortunate enough to be signed to a professional Home Grown player contract with the Union. However, it is just as important for our program to help our kids pursue the opportunity to play collegiate soccer at a high level, and to also use soccer as a means to receive a great education. We will closely monitor the progress of all our Union Academy alums throughout their college careers and wish them luck on their path to wearing a Union jersey again in the future."

Committed Union Academy players (club team in parentheses)

Colton Amidon (FC DELCO) - Penn State

Darius Madison (FC DELCO, pictured above) - University of Virginia

Christiano Francois (PDA) - University of Maryland

Jelani Williams (PDA) - St. John's University

Brandon Savino (PDA) - St. John's University

Christian Kaschak (PA Classics) - Penn State University

Shane Campbell (FC DELCO) - Penn State University

Zack Steffen (FC DELCO) - University of Maryland

Brett Campbell (FC DELCO) - Georgetown University

Andrew Herr (FC DELCO) - Michigan State University

Melvin Snoh (Penn Fusion) - Georgetown University

Thomas Bull (PDA) - Amherst College

Kyle Bitterman (PA Classics) - Fordham University

Jonathan Wenger (PA Classics) - Elon University

Quincy Thomas (PA Classics) - University of Memphis

Thomas Shiiba (Penn Fusion) - United States Naval Academy

Keegan Rosenberry (Penn Fusion) - Georgetown University

Kyle Morton (Penn Fusion) - James Madison University

Jared Martinelli (HMMS) - Temple University

Alex Murphy (Penn Fusion) - University of Pennsylvania

Sam Frymier (Penn Fusion) - Duquesne University

Academy