FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Plenty of familiar faces were present on Tuesday morning when the New England Revolution kicked off preseason camp in the Empower Field House at Gillette Stadium, and a few fresh faces were also sprinkled amongst the crowd.
In addition to the 20 players currently under contract with the Revs, five other unsigned players have joined camp with an aim at earning a spot on the full roster.
SuperDraft picks Napo Matsoso (2nd round, 31st overall) and Joshua Smith (4th round, 75th overall) are joined by a trio of players with MLS experience: Emmanuel Appiah, Otis Earle and Tyler Turner.
Appiah was selected 15th overall by the Colorado Rapids in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, and also spent time with Sporting Kansas City last season, making one league appearance. The 23-year-old midfielder also made six appearances on loan with the USL’s Swope Park Rangers.
Earle – the son of former Premier League midfielder and current NBC Sports commentator Robbie – was drafted 15th overall by FC Dallas in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, and recently spent time on loan with Arizona United – now known as Phoenix Rising. The 25-year-old plays primarily as a left back.
Turner, the youngest of the bunch at 20 years old, spent the past three years with Orlando City, making the jump with the club from USL to MLS in 2015. An outside back, he made seven MLS appearances for Orlando in 2015 before spending most of 2016 on loan with Orlando City B.
