FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Revolution announced today that former Duke defender Kyle Helton has signed with Major League Soccer to play for the Revs. Per MLS and team policies, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The Revolution drafted Helton in the fourth round (51st overall) in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. With Helton's signing, the Revs have reached MLS' 28-player limit for the active roster.
"We are pleased Kyle has joined our team," Revolution Director of Soccer Michael Burns said. "He developed into a versatile player at Duke and we're optimistic that he'll continue to find success at the professional level."
Helton, 20, was a second-team All-ACC selection as a senior defender at Duke. A former member of the U.S. Under-17 National Team who played more than 60 matches with the youth national teams in 2002 and 2003, Helton helped back the Blue Devils' defense that posted an 0.82 goals against average in 2006. Helton recorded four assists as a senior, pushing his career total to 14. He also scored two goals in 63 career appearances for Duke.
The Revolution will play defending MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo tonight, Saturday, May 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET, in a game that will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. Following the game, the Revolution will return home to play its next four games at Gillette Stadium, beginning next week - on Saturday, May 26 - with a match against the Kansas City Wizards at 6:30 p.m. That game will be preceded by an international friendly featuring the Republic of Ireland against Bolivia at 4 p.m. For ticket information, call 1-877-GET-REVS.
