Two New Trialists
- Updated: February 27, 2012
Forward Bobby Kirobi Devyne and left midfielder Austin da Luz have joined the New England Revolution on trial this week. Devyne is a 19-year-old Chelsea FC Academy product, while da Luz, 24, most recently played with D.C. United.
Meanwhile former Arsenal Academy defender Tom Cruise and Italian midfielder Luisito Campisi are no longer on trial. Cruise saw just 23 minutes of action in the Revs 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, while Campisi saw a combined 56 minutes against New York on Saturday and the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday.
Florian Lechner, Bjorn Runstrom, Jeremiah White, Blake Brettschneider, Gabe Mercier and MLS Supplemental Draft picks Alec Purdie, Dawyne “Rick” Smith and Michael Roach remain on trial.
Devyne last played for England’s Chelsea FC Under-19s. The 5-foot-7 forward originally signed for Chelsea as a 13-year-old and is eligible to play for both Kenya and England at the international level, though he hasn’t appeared for either.
In addition to playing for Chelsea’s youth teams, Devyne made five reserve team appearances, including four in the 2010/2011 season before being released in June of 2011. Devyne’s last appearance came as a substitute for Chelsea FC’s reserves as they won the Barclays Premier Reserve League national championship on penalties against Blackburn Rovers on May 16, 2011. He trialed for Football League One (England’s third division) side Brentford over the summer.
Austin da Luz, a Wake Forest University product, was drafted 14th overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls. Da Luz appeared in a U.S. Open Cup match for the Red Bulls in his rookie season, but did not play for the first team in MLS action until May 28, 2011 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. After making seven MLS appearances for New York, he was traded to D.C. United on July 18, 2011 for an international roster slot for the remainder of that season.
The 5-foot-10 California native made 14 appearances for D.C. in 2011, but was not re-signed. He also recently trialed for Real Salt Lake, but left their camp on February 10. In total, da Luz made 21 MLS appearances with nine starts in 2011.
The Revs return to preseason action on Wednesday, February 29, against Real Salt Lake at 8 p.m. in the final group stage match of the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup.
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