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Fresh off a start against Sporting Kansas City in the Revs' first pre-season match of the season, forward Matt Horth is officially a member of the New England Revolution per a team announcement.
Horth, 23, most recently played for North American Soccer League's Atlanta Silverbacks, where he played two seasons. In 49 appearances, he scored 18 goals in 2011 and 2012. Last season, he scored 10 goals and added one assist, following an eight-goal, one-assist effort as a rookie in 2011.
"We're pleased to add a young forward in Matt to the roster," Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. "He is a talented young player who had had a strong record of scoring goals in the NASL. We believe has the potential to take the next step and do well for our club."
Horth played collegiately Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., where he was a four-year starter. In 74 career appearances (72 starts), Horth scored 36 goals and added 20 assists and was a three-time All-New England honoree and a two-time first-team all-conference performer. Horth also spent time with PDL clubs Cape Cod Crusaders (2008), Southern California Seahorses (2009) and Cleveland Internationals (2010) while in college.
Signing Horth is certainly a firm step towards addressing the thin corps of forwards currently on the Revolution roster, though the big question is whether he does indeed have the skill to take his game to the next level. Horth is young and has shown Jay Heaps and his staff enough potential to warrant a contract, but it remains to be seen whether his impressive goal-scoring can continue in MLS or if he will simply burn out a la Blake Brettschneider.
Knowing that Horth is now officially a Rev, fans will surely be eager to see him in action, and they can perhaps get a better taste of what he brings to the table when the Revs take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in another pre-season friendly on Tuesday. Sadly the match will not be streamed anywhere, but like today's match @NERevsLive on twitter will have the play-by-play updates.