New England Inks Caldwell as 2nd Homegrown Player

Per a team release, the Revolution announced today that they have signed midfielder Scott Caldwell to a homegrown player contract, a move that has been expected for some time now. Caldwell, a native of Braintree, MA, was an integral part of the highly successful Akron program that has produced many successful MLS talents over the years. He has also been a part of the Revolution academy system for the majority of his soccer career and has trained with the first team during summer breaks throughout his time with the Zips.

"We're very pleased to add Scott to our roster as our second Homegrown player signing," General Manager Michael Burns said. "He's had a very successful college career at Akron and he's played very well when we have had him in with our first team during his college breaks. We look forward to integrating him with the first team on a permanent basis when the team reconvenes in a month for the 2013 preseason."

"I am excited to play for the team I grew up watching. Having grown up watching Mike Burns and Jay Heaps, it will be cool to work under and play for them," Caldwell said. "I know it will be a lot of hard work, but I hope to contribute to the team. It was always my goal to play for the Revolution and I am so happy it is finally happening."

Caldwell is a two-time NSCAA All-American and was the Mid-America Conference player of the year this season. He was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award. In 88 career games with the Zips, Caldwell started 66 games and scored 20 goals while adding 22 assists.

A two-time captain, he capped his collegiate career in 2012 by starting all 22 of Akron's games and scoring a career-high nine goals and recording a team-best 10 assists.

Caldwell is one of the top talent's in this year's collegiate senior class and is a very important addition for the Revolution. Primarily a central attacking midfielder, Caldwell's playing time is still far from guaranteed as he will have to compete for minutes with the likes of Kelyn Rowe, Andy Dorman, Ryan Guy, Juan Toja, among others. But, that said, his signing with the Revs is a big step towards planning for the future. The move also illustrates the success of New England's highly-praised academy system and the shear fact that the club is keeping up with other teams around MLS who are signing more and more homegrown players every year.

New England will expect big things from the youngster in the long-term, but for now, expectations should be modest. Nevertheless, this news is definitely fist-pump worthy.