T2 Announce Four Player Signings Ahead of 2020 USL Championship Season
January 15, 2020 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Portland Timbers 2 News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. - T2 have signed forwards Gio Calixtro and Ryan Sierakowski and midfielders Marcus Epps and Ken Krolicki for the 2020 USL Championship season, it was announced today.
The four signings join a returning group of players that includes midfielder Carlos Anguiano and defenders Harold Hanson and Max Ornstil, whom are already under contract for 2020. Additionally, defender Niko De Vera and goalkeeper Jake Leeker had their 2020 contract options exercised.
The club will announce additional roster moves heading into the start of the 2020 USL Championship regular season.
Anguiano, 20, has appeared in 35 matches (29 starts), tallying two goals and five assists across three seasons for T2 (2017-19). The Salem, Ore., native scored two goals and ranked third on the team with five assists in 22 appearances (21 starts) for Portland in 2019. Anguiano made his debut for T2 as a 17-year-old in a 1-1 draw at Reno 1868 FC on July 22, 2017. Anguiano played for T2 from 2017-18 as a member of the Portland Timbers Academy.
Calixtro, 19, tallied eight goals and two assists in 41 appearances (21 starts) the past three seasons for T2 (2017-19) as a member of the Portland Timbers Academy. The Cornelius, Ore., native is the second-youngest player in team history to make his debut for the club, logging seven minutes off the bench as a 16-year-old. In 2019, Calixtro made 26 appearances (17 starts), ranking fifth on the team with six goals scored while adding two assists. Notably, Calixtro is the youngest player in team history to record a goal (17 years, 25 days), tallying the game-tying goal against Reno 1868 FC on July 22, 2017.
De Vera, 23, missed the 2019 USL Championship season due to an injury sustained in preseason. De Vera played the 2018 USL season with New York Red Bulls II, where he appeared in 27 matches (22 starts). The Camas, Wash., native was drafted by the New York Red Bulls in the second round (31st overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. De Vera, a Portland Timbers Academy product, played collegiate soccer at the University of Akron (2014-17), where he appeared in 60 matches (41 starts) and registered one goal and seven assists across four seasons. Additionally, De Vera played two seasons with the Portland Timbers U23 (2016-17), where he made 27 appearances in 1,670 minutes played.
Epps, 24, has scored 13 goals and registered 11 assists in 98 career professional appearances (73 starts) from 2017-19. The Jackson, Miss., native was selected 25th overall in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union. In his rookie campaign for the Union, Epps tallied two goals and an assist in 19 appearances (seven starts). Epps scored two goals in five appearances for Philadelphia in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play (2017-18). The midfielder made 13 appearances (eight starts) for the Union in league play in 2018, tallying a goal and two assists. Epps split time with the New York Red Bulls, New York Red Bulls II and Memphis 901 FC in 2019. Epps logged three appearances (one start) for the Red Bulls in MLS competition, while tallying two goals and four assists in 18 appearances (16 starts) for Red Bull II in USL Championship play. Epps was then sent on loan to Memphis, where he logged three goals and an assist in 15 appearances (14 starts).
Hanson, 20, played the previous three seasons (2017-19) for T2 after signing with the club as a 17-year-old. In 2019, Hanson made 25 appearances (24 starts), logging one goal and two assists. In 2018, the Ontario, Calif., native made 14 appearances (5 starts) and scored one goal, in helping T2 qualify for the first playoff appearance in club history. Hanson scored his first professional goal against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on June 17, 2018. During the 2017 USL Championship campaign, Hanson appeared in 23 games (21 starts) and tallied two assists. Additionally, Hanson made his MLS debut for the Portland Timbers, coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place on July 23, 2017.
Krolicki, 23, played the previous two MLS campaigns with the Montreal Impact (2018-19), after being selected with the 53rd overall pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft from Michigan State University (2014-17). In two seasons with the Impact, Krolicki has appeared in 40 matches (27 starts) across all competitions. In 2018, the Fukuoka, Japan, native appeared in 24 matches (18 starts) in his rookie campaign for Montreal. The midfielder made 10 appearances (five starts) in league play for the Impact in 2019. Notably, Krolicki won the 2019 Canadian Championship with the Impact, making four appearances (three starts) in the competition.
Leeker, 24, enters his second season with T2 after leading the team with 17 appearances (17 starts) and tallying 63 saves and posting one shutout in 2019. Leeker played his first professional season with Real Monarchs SLC in 2018, logging six shutouts in 17 starts. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Leeker played collegiate soccer at the University of Memphis (2014-17), where he appeared in 47 matches and posted 10 clean sheets.
Ornstil, 25, who enters his fourth season with T2, appeared in 50 matches (32 starts) with three goals scored across three seasons (2017-19) for Portland since joining the club from Portland Timbers U23 in the PDL in 2016. During the 2019 USL Championship regular season, Ornstil made 23 appearances (16 starts) in 1,543 minutes played.
In his first season as a professional in 2019, Sierakowski, 22, ranked second on T2 with eight goals and added two assists in 32 appearances (23 starts) in USL Championship play. The Barrington, Ill., native was drafted by the Portland Timbers in the first round (No. 23 overall) of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft from Michigan State University (2015-18). He appeared in 82 matches (82 starts) during his college career for the Spartans, recording 33 goals and 16 assists during that period. At Michigan State, Sierakowski received All-Big Ten first-team honors as a sophomore in 2016, finishing second in scoring in the conference with nine goals and ranking first on the team with five assists.
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