As the March 1 deadline to cut the Union's roster down to 30 players looms, the team started making moves Wednesday morning. Two players are out the door: midfielder Alex Mendoza and left back Damani Richards.
Both players came to the Union with pedigrees of consequence.
Mendoza spent the last few years on the roster of Mexican powerhouse UNAM Pumas. He was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pa., and grew up in the City Islanders' acacdemy. So his signing on January 24 helped give the Union's roster another shot of local flavor.
But Mendoza's preferred position, central midfield, is the one where the Union have the most depth. Roger Torres, Michael Farfan and Michael Lahoud all were ahead of Mendoza on the depth chart – and that's before you get to defensive-oriented players such as Amobi Okugo and Brian Carroll.
Richards' departure is a bigger surprise, given the Union's lack of depth at left back. The Union announced the Trinidadian's arrival on January 19, the day after the SuperDraft.
His impending arrival was cited as one of the main reasons why the team didn't draft a left back – and in particular, why they passed on Louisville defender and Holland, Pa., native Greg Cochrane.
"The chatter of us needing to draft a left back was laughable," Union mananger John Hackworth said last month in a letter to fans on the team's website. "We'd already reached an agreement with Damani Richards, who was on trial with us for the last month of this past season."
Hackworth proceeded to call Richards " a true left back and we feel as though he had more potential to be developed than any left back we saw in the draft. Yes he's young and we need to develop him, but this is a player with international experience, who is extremely gifted athletically."
Gabriel Farfan's status as the Union's starting left back was never really in doubt. But Richards' failure to make the roster dents the team's depth at the position. SuperDraft pick Don Anding appears to now be Farfan's backup. The Northeastern University product's speed and strength make him a fine fit for the role. Though Anding's tactical polish isn't quite there yet, that can come with time.