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Crystal Palace Baltimore Signs Three Local Players

February 19, 2009 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Crystal Palace Baltimore News Release


Baltimore, MD - Crystal Palace Baltimore is pleased to announce the signing of three additional players to bolster its roster for the upcoming season. Stephen Basso, Billy Chiles and Kevin Gnatiko have all been with the squad since pre-season training began this past Monday, February 16, 2009.

STEPHEN BASSO

Basso, 21 years old, grew up in Columbia, Maryland where he attended Hammond High School, leading the team to two regional championships. The 6' 1" defender played for DC United's U-17s and U-20s, reaching the national championship semi-finals with each team. Basso decided to turn pro at age 19, signing with SV Darmstadt 98 in Germany's third division. He lead the team in minutes played while scoring five goals and tallying fifteen assists over two seasons, playing mostly as a left back, left midfielder and occasionally as a center-back. In 2008, Basso returned to the United States, joining Palace's local rival in USL-2, Real Maryland, for their inaugural season. He played seventeen games for the Monarchs, placing second in minutes played for the team, and being named to the USL-2 Team of the Week on three occasions.

"We thought Stephen was one of the best players we faced in USL-2 last year, similar to how we felt about Val Teixeira the year before," remarked Pete Medd, Palace Baltimore's President and Co-Manager. "We're happy to pick him up - he's got a good amount of experience at the back, he's very technical, very fast and he plays hard. We're looking for him to make quite an impact in defense this year."

"I'm very happy to be here," said Basso. "This is a great club with a lot of history and I hope to progress here. I look forward to winning the championship with Palace."

BILLY CHILES

Washington DC native Chiles attended Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. In his senior year (2003), he earned All-Metro honors and was selected for the McDonald's All-American game. At Towson University, Chiles was named as a second team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and was honored as a first team All-Colonial Athletic Association pick as a senior. Chiles finished his Towson career with a 19-7-5 record while earning fifteen shutouts and a 0.77 goals against average, the best mark in school history. The 6' 3" shot-stopper trained last year with the U-23 US National Team in Bradenton, Florida, and with Jamaican club Harbor View.

Medd commented: "We've known about him for a while, being from Towson. He was drafted by the Columbus Crew last year, but things didn't work out. He's got all the upside in the world - with the body of an English Premier League 'keeper and with guidance from our goalkeeping coach and from Brian Rowland, the sky's the limit."

"I'm really looking forward to playing with my first professional team," stated Chiles. "It's going to be a great season."

KEVIN GNATIKO

Now 22 years old, Gnatiko, who likes to be called "Tiko", moved to the United States from Togo with his family at age 10. In his senior year (2004) at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, he garnered All-Metro honors while helping his team win the 4A Division title. The 5' 7" athlete also excelled at track and field at Watkins Mill, winning the 100m regionals with a time of 10.5 seconds. During his career at UMBC, the pacey forward scored twelve goals and twelve assists, earning a spot on the All-Conference (America East) Second Team in 2007. Gnatiko played for the Cape Cod Crusaders of the Premier Development League in 2008.

"Tiko is a lively attacking player, who gave us fits last year when we played UMBC in pre-season," said Medd. "He has a lot of natural quickness - he's n exciting attacking option for us."

"I'm very excited to finally start my pro career," stated Gnatiko, "and I think Crystal Palace is a fantastic place for me to start!"

Crystal Palace Baltimore's pre-season exhibition schedule kicks off at 7:00pm on Thursday, March 12, 2009 against the New York Red Bulls of MLS at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Palace's regular season begins at 7:30pm on April 17, 2009 against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at UMBC Stadium. The full schedule can be found at http://www.crystalpalaceusa.com/Schedule.php

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