The Tulsa Roughnecks have finalized deals on two more players for the upcoming 2016 season. The Roughnecks announced today that Scottish defender Gary Cennerazzo and Welsh defender Matt Whatley have come to terms with the club.
Both are expected to arrive in Tulsa within the next week.
The 26-year-old Cennerazzo will give the Roughnecks defensive flexibility as he can play either left or right back. He comes to Tulsa from Edinburgh, Scotland where he played with Spartans F.C. of the Scottish Lowland Football League.
During his career, he has also spent time with Scottish sides Cowdenbeath, Arniston Rangers and Edinburgh City. This move will mark his first stint with a club in the United States.
Cennerazzo comes from a football family, as his grandfather, James Walker, played several years in the 1950s with Glasgow Rangers.
Whatley normally plays in the center of defense. Recently, he has spent time with Port Talbot Town in Wales. He is not the first Port Talbot player to join the Roughnecks, as 2015 midfielder Chad Bond also played for the Welsh side.
The 23-year-old Whatley began his career during the 2011-2012 seasons, splitting time between Welsh First Division sides Neath Athletic and Carmarthen Town.
The following year, he moved to Sweden and spent one season each with AFC United and Syrianska FC.
In 2015, Whatley made the move to Iceland and joined Division 2 UMF Selfoss, playing every minute of all 22 league matches for squad.
With the signings, the Roughnecks have now used five of their seven international spots. A sixth slot is expected to be filled by Jasson Ramos Carpio. The 20-year-old native of Guatemala has been training with the Roughnecks while waiting final confirmation from FIFA of his move to Tulsa. He scored three goals in two appearances in Florida.
MORE ROSTER NEWS: The Roughnecks also announced a pair of departures from the squad. It was expected that forward Kidd Nwabueze and defender Ryan Price would be back with the club for a second season, but that will not be the case. Kidd has recently reached an agreement to return to Armenia to join Ararat Yerevan of the Armenian Premier League. It will be the second stint in the Armenian top league for Kidd as he previously played for FC Banants before joining the Roughnecks.
Price, who led the Roughnecks in minutes played in their inaugural season, has decided to retire from soccer.
OKLAHOMA SCHEDULE: Tulsa will play a pair of matches in the Tulsa area this week. Thursday night, TRFC will take on the University of Tulsa at the TU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm.
Saturday afternoon, the Roughnecks will play Oklahoma Wesleyan University at the Owasso High School Stadium as part of Owasso Soccer Day activities.
The Roughnecks will open USL regular season play on Saturday, March 26 when they host Rio Grande Valley (Houston Dynamo 2) at ONEOK Field.
Tickets for the match, as well as season tickets, are now on sale. Individual tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE.
The Tulsa Roughnecks have finalized deals on two more players for the upcoming 2016 season. The Roughnecks announced today that Scottish defender Gary Cennerazzo and Welsh defender Matt Whatley have come to terms with the club.
Both are expected to arrive in Tulsa within the next week.
The 26-year-old Cennerazzo will give the Roughnecks defensive flexibility as he can play either left or right back. He comes to Tulsa from Edinburgh, Scotland where he played with Spartans F.C. of the Scottish Lowland Football League.
During his career, he has also spent time with Scottish sides Cowdenbeath, Arniston Rangers and Edinburgh City. This move will mark his first stint with a club in the United States.
Cennerazzo comes from a football family, as his grandfather, James Walker, played several years in the 1950s with Glasgow Rangers.
Whatley normally plays in the center of defense. Recently, he has spent time with Port Talbot Town in Wales. He is not the first Port Talbot player to join the Roughnecks, as 2015 midfielder Chad Bond also played for the Welsh side.
The 23-year-old Whatley began his career during the 2011-2012 seasons, splitting time between Welsh First Division sides Neath Athletic and Carmarthen Town.
The following year, he moved to Sweden and spent one season each with AFC United and Syrianska FC.
In 2015, Whatley made the move to Iceland and joined Division 2 UMF Selfoss, playing every minute of all 22 league matches for squad.
With the signings, the Roughnecks have now used five of their seven international spots. A sixth slot is expected to be filled by Jasson Ramos Carpio. The 20-year-old native of Guatemala has been training with the Roughnecks while waiting final confirmation from FIFA of his move to Tulsa. He scored three goals in two appearances in Florida.
MORE ROSTER NEWS: The Roughnecks also announced a pair of departures from the squad. It was expected that forward Kidd Nwabueze and defender Ryan Price would be back with the club for a second season, but that will not be the case. Kidd has recently reached an agreement to return to Armenia to join Ararat Yerevan of the Armenian Premier League. It will be the second stint in the Armenian top league for Kidd as he previously played for FC Banants before joining the Roughnecks.
Price, who led the Roughnecks in minutes played in their inaugural season, has decided to retire from soccer.
OKLAHOMA SCHEDULE: Tulsa will play a pair of matches in the Tulsa area this week. Thursday night, TRFC will take on the University of Tulsa at the TU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm.
Saturday afternoon, the Roughnecks will play Oklahoma Wesleyan University at the Owasso High School Stadium as part of Owasso Soccer Day activities.
The Roughnecks will open USL regular season play on Saturday, March 26 when they host Rio Grande Valley (Houston Dynamo 2) at ONEOK Field.
Tickets for the match, as well as season tickets, are now on sale. Individual tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE.
