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Birmingham Bolsters Back Line with Culbertson

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 03/07/19, 11:29AM EST

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Rangers make record signing; Indy, LouCity and New York add new faces


Left back Kyle Culbertson made 28 appearances for Saint Louis FC during the 2018 Championship campaign. | Photo courtesy Mark Guthrel / Saint Louis FC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Birmingham Legion FC added to its back line on Thursday as the club announced the signing of defender Kyle Culbertson to a multi-year contract, pending league and federation approval.

Culbertson spent last season playing in the USL Championship with Saint Louis FC, where he made 28 appearances (24 starts) and helped STLFC reach the USL Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history.

“Kyle is a dynamic, attacking left-back that is an exciting addition to our backline,” said Legion FC President and General Manager Jay Heaps. “He’s a guy with valuable USL experience and he has quickly fit into our team.”

Culbertson started his collegiate career at the University of Akron before transferring to Columbia University and then Ohio State University. The defender featured for the Buckeyes from 2013 to 2015 and scored 10 goals in 42 appearances. While in college, Culbertson also featured for USL League Two sides the Charlotte Eagles (2015), Mississippi Brilla (2012) and the Cincinnati Kings (2011).

RANGERS MAKE RECORD SIGNING: The Swope Park Rangers announced the youngest professional signing in club history on Thursday as 16-year-old goalkeeper Brooks Thompson joined the club for the 2019 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval.

Thompson recently started two preseason matches for the Rangers, a 5-0 victory over Barton Community College on Feb. 2 and a 2-1 win at North Texas SC on Feb. 13. He was also one of five Sporting KC Academy players who trained with Sporting Kansas City during the club’s 2019 preseason camp in Scottsdale, Ariz., featuring in a shutout win over Phoenix Rising FC trialists on Jan. 23.

A native of Floyds Knobs, Indiana, Thompson has played a leading role for the Sporting Kansas City Academy U-19s during the 2018-19 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaign. He has posted a 6-2-3 record in 11 league matches, earning four shutouts and posting a 1.09 goals against average. The 6-foot-3 goalkeeper has also competed for the Sporting KC U-17s throughout 2019 Generation adidas Cup qualifying. Thompson joined the Sporting KC Academy last summer after he spent the previous two years with IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

The Rangers also announced the addition of forward William Opoku Mensah to the team’s Championship roster on Wednesday, pending the receipt of Opoku's International Transfer Certificate (ITC), as well as league and federation approval.

Opoku, 23, joins the Rangers from Karela United in his native Ghana. In the 2018 Ghanaian Premier League campaign, Opoku served as club captain and tallied seven goals in just 11 games, including a 19-minute hat trick against traditional Ghanaian powerhouse Hearts of Oak.

INDY ADDS DEPTH WITH DUO: Indy Eleven added two new pieces to its 2019 roster on Wednesday as the club announced the signings of defender Mitchell Osmond and forward Alioune Diakhate, pending league and federation approval.

Osmond, 24, started his collegiate career with Calumet College of St. Joseph before transferring to the University of Rio Grande for his final two seasons. In his season year, Osmond earned NAIA First Team All-American honors in addition to be named Riverstates Conference Player of the Year and Defender of the Year. During his collegiate career, he also featured USL League Two side Thunder Bay Chill before being drafted in the 2019 MLS Super Draft by Minnesota United FC.

“Mitch is well known within the USL system having been the League Two Player of the Year in 2017,” said Indy Head Coach Martin Rennie. “He had a very successful college career which saw him drafted by a Major League Soccer team. He just happened to be available at a time where we were looking for someone to fill his position. Indy will be a great place for him to play and I think he’ll do very well.”

Diakhate, 23, earned a contract after completing a successful trial with the Eleven. The Senegal native has previously played for FK Partizan in Serbia’s top flight and Lebanese club Tadamon Sour.

“He’s a very powerful, hard-working forward who presses well and possess great shooting ability,” said Rennie. “He’s very hungry to succeed and this is his chance to do that.”

BUCKMASTER JOINS RED BULLS II: The New York Red Bulls II added to its back line on Tuesday as the club announced the signing of defender Rece Buckmaster for the 2019 USL Championship season, pending league and federation approval.

Buckmaster was a four-year letterman at Indiana University, where he scored five goals and added 12 assists in 82 appearances. In his senior season, the defender earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors while leading the Hoosiers to back-to-back National Championship appearances.

The 22-year-old was selected by the New York Red Bulls with the 32nd overall pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft and participated in both of the team’s preseason camps.

“Rece impressed us at the MLS Combine and quickly became a player that we wanted to have at our club,” said NYRB II Head Coach John Wolyniec. “We were excited to be able to draft him and he has proven us right with his individual defending and tactical adaptability.”

CHAMPS SIGN LOCAL COLLEGIATE STANDOUT: Louisville City FC dipped into the local collegiate scene on Wednesday as the club announced the signing of former University of Louisville midfielder Geoffrey Dee, pending league and federation approval. 

Dee, an All-ACC performer under Ken Lolla at Louisville, began his collegiate career with the University of Tulsa after spending time training with German club Werder Bremen in 2013. The midfielder started all 41 games of his Tulsa career before moving to the University of Louisville in 2016.

“We identified Geoff as a potential pro player when we scouted him playing for UofL last Fall,” said LouCity Head Coach John Hackworth. “Since being with us from the beginning of preseason, he has shown his qualities on and off the field. We look forward to seeing him continue his playing career here in the ‘Ville with us.”

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