Swope Park Rangers add two more young players

On the heels of adding two players just over a week ago, the Swope Park Rangers added two more players on Friday. They are young players, which gives more hope that they could one day play for Sporting Kansas City, as opposed to the older players mostly getting the minutes with Swope right now.

The first new signing is forward Ethan Vanacore-Decker. He is a former member of the New York Red Bulls academy and put in some time with the club in the MLS Reserve League. Before that Vanacore-Decker bounced around the college ranks from the University Connecticut to the University of Louisville before finishing at Rutgers University.

I stumbled upon a highlight film made (or at least posted by) Ethan. It’s not nearly as slick as the one Akhmatov, but it gives you a glimpse of what he might be capable of. It feels mostly like poacher goals. There hasn’t been a true center forward on SPR this season, so maybe that has a place.

The second addition is midfielder Thierry Catherine. He is a Martinique international who is just 21 years old. His previous club is Golden Lion FC who he helped to win Trophee du Conseil General and Martinique Championnat National titles in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016. He also aided the club in winning Coupe de la Martinique championship in 2016 and a Ligue des Antilles title in 2017.

Catherine may have been discovered at the 2018 MLS Caribbean Combine. He and 22 other players were invited in for a three-day event and he becomes the first to sign with a USL or MLS team.

Here are the player vitals courtesy of SportingKC.com:

Thierry Catherine

Position: Midfielder

Number: TBD

Born: 8/2/97 (21 years old)

Height: 5-11

Weight: 145

Hometown: Fort de France, Martinique

Birthplace: Fort de France, Martinique

Citizenship: France

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Ethan Vanacore-Decker

Position: Forward

Number: 91

Born: 10/6/94 (23 years old)

Height: 5-11

Weight: 175

Hometown: Manahawkin, N.J.

Birthplace: Manahawkin, N.J.

Citizenship: USA