Union release 2015 preseason training camp roster

The Union will officially open preseason training on Monday at YSC Sports in Wayne. Ahead of the first full practice, the team put out its preseason roster on Sunday. It includes some trialists and academy prospects who've been invited to train with the first team.

Goalkeepers (5): Andre Blake, Rais Mbolhi (absent due to African Cup of Nations), John McCarthy (trialist), Bryan Sylvestre (trialist), Andrew Verdi (academy)

Defenders (10): Coady Andrews (trialist), Austin Berry, Fabinho, Ray Gaddis, Raymond Lee (draftee), Richard Marquez, Aaron Simmons (draftee), Carlos Valdés, Ethan White, Sheanon Williams

Midfielders (13): Eric Bird (draftee), Brian Carroll, Danny Cruz, Maurice Edu (yes, he's listed as a midfielder), Fred, Michael Lahoud, Sébastien Le Toux, Cristian Maidana, Jimmy McLaughlin, Vincent Nogueira, Zach Pfeffer, Andrew Wenger, Sean Wilson (academy)

Forwards (7): Conor Casey, Dzenan Catic (draftee), Sebastian Elney (academy), Antoine Hoppenot, Hermes Palomino (trialist), C.J. Sapong, Aaron Wheeler

There are four trialists in total. Let's start with Hermes Palomino, who's probably going to draw the most "Who is that?" reactions from all of you out there. He's a 26-year-old, 5-foot-11 Veneuzuelan striker who currently plays for Aragua FC in Venezuela's first division. From 2011 to 2013, Palomino played for Bulgarian first division club Cherno More. He returned home to sign for Atlético Venezuela, then moved to Aragua in 2014.

Coady Andrews is a central defender who is currently with the Missouri Comets of the Major Arena Soccer League, which is the current incarnation of the old Major Indoor Soccer League that the now-defunct Philadelphia Kixx played in. Prior to joining the Comets he spent a few years with the Harrisburg City Islanders, which is how the Union know him. Last year, Andrews helped Harrisburg reach the USL PRO title game.

Bryan Sylvestre's name is likely familiar to Union fans who follow the City Islanders, as he played for Harrisburg against the Union in the U.S. Open Cup last year.

The Hollywood, Fla., native has been a bit of a journeyman - he was in the Vancouver Whitecaps' academy program from 2009 to 2011, and earned two call-ups to the United States Under-20 national team in 2011. The Whitecaps signed Sylvestre to a pro contract in 2011, but he never made any senior-level appearances for the club and was released in late 2012. He then joined Harrisburg in 2013, and has been there ever since.

John McCarthy's name might also be familiar to some Philadelphia-area soccer fans, as he grew up in Cinnaminson and played college soccer at La Salle. He played for Reading United in 2013 with Steve Neumann, Manolo Sanchez, Jimmy Ockford and Darius Madison, among others.

(Among McCarthy's competitors for playing time in net was Alex Bono, the Syracuse product who was drafted by Toronto FC this year and earned a callup to the most recent U.S. national team training camp.)

Last year, McCarthy signed with USL PRO's Rochester Rhinos, and had a stellar season. He posted a 0.72 goals against average and won not just Rookie of the Year honors, but Goalkeeper of the Year as well.

I would guess that Sylvestre and McCarthy will compete for the No. 3 goalkeeper spot on the Union's roster.

As for the academy players, the main one to watch is likely going to be Sebastian Elney. The Boca Raton native is a firmily-established part of the United States under-18 boys' national team.

Elney was called up last December for a training camp in Spain. He was one of many highly-touted MLS academy prospects on that roster, along with Orlando City's Tommy Redding, Columbus' Ben Swanson and Real Salt Lake's Sebastian Saucedo. The squad also included goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, who you might have heard of for other reasons.

While at that camp in Spain, Elney scored in a 3-2 loss to Germany. Earlier in the year, he scored twice against Hungary at the Vaclav Jezek Tournament in the Czech Republic, which the U.S. ultimately won.

Sean Wilson was also on the U.S. team for the Vaclav Jezek tournament. A Brooklyn native, Wilson spent some of his early years in Forks Township, Pa. (near Easton), then moved to Nevada for a time before coming back east to Bethlehem in 2010.

Andrew Verdi was part of the Union academy's under-16 team. The Ivyland native was on the Union team that competed at the 2014 Generation Adidas Cup.

The Union's four SuperDraft picks - Dzenan Catic, Eric Bird, Aaron Simmons and Raymond Lee - will all be present on Monday. They are noted above not just because they were draft picks, but also because they haven't signed contracts yet. You shouldn't necessarily presume that they'll make the cut. Some may end up in USL PRO with the Harrisburg City Islanders.

MLS announced last week that this year's preseason roster compliance deadline is February 27. But we don't yet know just what teams will have to do to be compliant, because MLS' collective bargaining talks with its players' union aren't anywhere close to a resolution.

Finally, a note on Carlos Valdés. Yes, he's on the roster. No, he hasn't been sold to any team in South America, despite the many reports and rumors about him possibly departing. As KYW's Kevin Kinkead reported Sunday afternoon, the Union have "not agreed to any transfer or loan deal" to give Valdes up.