December 3, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Stalwarts Matt Van Oekel, Phanuel Kavita and Enzo Martinez headline 13 players returning to Birmingham Legion FC for the 2025 season, with the club announcing on Tuesday its first batch of offseason roster decisions.
Next year will mark a seventh season in Birmingham for Van Oekel, having been with the club since its inception prior to the 2019 season. The 38-year-old goalkeeper tallied 77 saves and six clean sheets in 22 appearances across the 2024 USL Championship campaign. Club captain Kavita readies to embark on a fifth season in Birmingham, while Martinez is set for his fourth after logging a team-best 3,053 minutes across 34 appearances in USL-C play this past year.
Other players remaining on the roster for 2025 are goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg; defenders Ramiz Hamouda, Moses Mensah, AJ Paterson; midfielders Matthew Corcoran, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, Jake Rufe; forwards Dawson McCartney, Tyler Pasher and Preston Tabort Etaka.
Meanwhile, players not returning to Legion FC next season are defender Alex Crognale, midfielder Mikey Lopez and forwards Prosper Kasim, Diba Nwegbo and Stefano Pinho. Additionally, defender Derek Dodson and midfielder Miguel Perez head back to their respective parent clubs after being loaned to Birmingham for the 2024 season.
Kasim departs Legion FC after six memorable seasons, leading the club all-time with 167 appearances in USL-C play. The Ghana-native announced his presence in a big way by scoring the club’s first ever goal in a 3-2 victory over Louisville City FC in 2019. Like Kasim, Lopez came to The Magic City for Legion FC’s inaugural season and made his presence felt in the middle of the pitch with a club-best 164 tackles won. Crognale joined Legion FC for the 2020 season and proved to be a staple of consistency, having logged 12,179 minutes in five years to rank second in club history, only behind Van Oekel’s 13,516 minutes. The 30-year-old defender also leads all Birmingham players with 604 total clearances.
Legion FC thanks them and all departing players for their contributions on the pitch and for having a hand in laying down a solid foundation as the club continues to grow.
Updates on players who served on the 2024 roster that are not listed above will be announced at a later date.
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