The Orlando City U23s announced on Friday, May 10, the signing of seven additional players heading into their first round Open Cup match against VSI Tampa Bay FC, on Tuesday, May 14, at the Seminole Soccer Complex, in Sanford Fla. The list of signees includes David Graydon, Andrew Clare, Paul Clowes, Michael Annarumma, Ian Svantesson, Michael Millay and Jehov Pardo de Figueroa, and brings Shaw and his staff closer to finalizing their roster for the 2013 season.
“VSI are a tough an organized team, but we feel very confident going into the match with the guys we currently have on the team and we will be ready,” said U23 Head Coach Paul Shaw in an interview with orlandocitysoccer.com.
In his first season with Clemson University, Paul Clowes recorded three assists which was tied for second on the team. Before transitioning over to the states, the English midfielder played at Manchester City Football Club from age six to 18. Clowes was a member of the City’s youth team during his time with the club, and was named captain for the 2011-12 season. The Englishman was also a member of City’s Reserve Team from 2010-2012 and participated in the U19s Champions League Competition, against notable clubs such as Barcelona, Celtic and Marseille.
David Graydon appeared in all 21 matches during his sophomore season at Saint Louis University. Throughout that 21 match span the midfielder recorded two goals and seven assists, tallying a total of 11 points on the season. Prior to attending SLU, Graydon played at local high school Montverde Academy under Head Coach Mike Potempa. During his senior season, Graydon was an ESPN Rise All-American, top 150 recruit, ESPN player of the week and league MVP. David also scored 10 goals and logged 18 assists, boosting Montverde to 23-0-4 record and a POWERADE FAB 50 No. 1 ranking.
Michael Annarumma appeared in all 21 games and received the nod to start 19 times for Hofstra University during his senior season. The midfielder also recorded three goals and two assists during the 2012 campaign, for a total of eight points. During the 2011 season, Annarumma started in all 18 games and scored one goal and notched two assists. Michael’s lone goal of the season was the game winning goal in a 3-2 overtime victory over Towson University. Prior to attending Hofstra, Annarumma led Massapequa High School to three Nassau County Championships and was an All-Conference selection as a senior.
Ian Svantesson was a four year letter winner at Lyman High School under Head Coach Steve Lyons. The Defender was tabbed to the All-Central Florida First Team as a junior and senior and led Lyman with 14 goals during his senior year. Svantesson played club soccer for Florida Soccer Alliance (FSA) and was an Olympic Development Program (ODP) National Youth Player in each of his last two years. Ian also helped lead his team to a second place finish at the 2011 Florida Youth Soccer Association (FYSA) State Cup.
Michael Millay started in all 18 games for the University of Cincinnati in his junior season, and was an integral part of the Bearcats backline. In 2011, Millay also started in all 17 matches and logged two goals and an assists for a total of five points. Millay played 1,560 of a possible 1,650 minutes in 2011, scored in back-to-back Big East contests, and also assisted on a game winner against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Millay was a three year letter winner at Dr. Phillips High School, played club soccer with Orlando FC and was also a three- time ODP Florida state team selection.
Andrew Clare started all 17 games for the University of Tampa in his sophomore season, logging 1,511 minutes played and two goals as a defender. As a freshman, Clare appeared and started in 14 games as a Spartan and was second on the team in minutes, recording 1,181. Prior to the University of Tampa, Clare attended Riverview High School and was named defensive and offensive player of the year during his time there. Clare was also a member of the IMG Academy club team which was coached by Keith Fulk.
Midfielder Jehov Pardo de Figueroa joins the U23s from local school Celebration High School. In 2011, Figueroa scored eight goals for Celebration en route to their first Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) State Semi-final appearance. Figueroa’s eight goals were third highest on the squad. The midfielder also notched seven assists which was second best on the team.
The U23s match against VSI Tampa Bay will kick off at 7 p.m. and the winner will play the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a second round match up. The T-PASS is not valid for Open Cup matches but single game tickets can be purchased for $8.
Click here to purchase a single game ticket!
*Photo: Clemson
