New England Revolution midfielder Mauricio Castro and goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth have re-signed with Major League Soccer to play for the Revolution. Per team and league policies, terms of the deals were not released. Additionally, the Revolution's first-round draft pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, Zack Schilawski, has signed with MLS and has been added to the Revs' roster.
"We're pleased to bring Mauricio and Bobby back," Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said. "Mauricio struggled with injuries most of last year, but we're expecting him to play an active role on the team this year. Bobby is a young player, but one whom we believe will get better with continued training alongside veterans Matt Reis and Preston Burpo."
Castro, 28, is entering his third season with the Revolution, having signed with the team from Olimpia of Honduras' Liga Nacional in 2008. Primarily a left-sided midfielder, Castro has made 30 appearances with the Revs spanning two seasons, recording four assists. He missed much of the 2009 season with a recurring hamstring injury, but still made four appearances late in the season, assisting on one of Kheli Dube's goals against Real Salt Lake on Aug. 23. He also made appearances in both of the Revolution's 2009 playoff matches against the Chicago Fire.
Despite his re-signing with the Revs, Castro will be forced to miss the first two games of the 2010 season while he serves a two-game suspension that was levied by the MLS Disciplinary Committee following the end of the Revs' 2009 campaign. The suspension was handed down for an incident that occurred on Nov. 7 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series at Chicago's Toyota Park.
Shuttleworth, 22, is entering his second season with the Revolution, having signed with the club as a free agent in June 2009. Shuttleworth spent much of 2009 as the team's third-string goalkeeper, but dressed as the team's backup on several occasions when Matt Reis was injured.
Schilawski, 22, was drafted by the Revolution with the ninth overall selection in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft out of Wake Forest. The forward finished his four-year Demon Deacon career with 99 appearances, 40 goals and 20 assists. As a senior in 2009, he scored a career-high 14 goals to lead the Atlantic Coast Conference and had seven assists while starting all 24 games to earn All-America and All-ACC honors. He was also the NSCAA/adidas men's soccer Scholar-Athlete of the year, graduating from Wake in three-in-a-half years with a degree in biology. He graduated from Wake Forest ranked third in school history in both goals (40) and points (100).
The Revolution is scheduled to open the 2010 season on the road against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, March 27 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Revs are set to open their 2010 home slate on Saturday, April 10, when they host Toronto FC, while the full 2010 MLS schedule will be released within the next week. Visit revolutionsoccer.net or follow the Revolution on Twitter (@NERevolution) for more information.
Transactions: New England Revolution (MLS) - Re-signed M Mauricio Castro and GK Bobby Shuttleworth; signed F Zack Schilawski
