Four Union Academy grads return to Reading United

Four Philadelphia Union Academy grads will return to Reading United for the 2017 Premier Development League season kicking off on May 13.

Defender Will Campbell (North Carolina), midfielders Kevin Carvalho (Northeastern), Zach Zandi (Villanova) and Mo Conde (University of Mobile) were announced as returnees by the club on Friday.

“These players are family. They grew up within the club,” head coach Stephen Hogan said in a news release. “We continue to track their development through college and what better way to get first hand information on their progress than through our PDL program. We are hoping their winning mentality from last year can push us even further this season.”

Campbell will be back in Reading for his fourth season after featuring in 13 matches last season and finishing second on the club in minutes played. The Wallingford native made four appearances for North Carolina in his first season last fall after redshirting his freshman year.

Zandi appeared in 11 matches in his first season last summer for Reading and had a brace in a match at Ocean City Nor’easters. The West Chester native had three goals and four assists in 19 matches at Villanova last season in helping to lead the Wildcats to their first ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Conde played five matches as a defender in Reading last summer and made his college debut in the fall with four goals and two assists as a midfielder at the University of Mobile. The Philadelphia native was part of YSC Academy’s first graduating class in 2015.

Kevin Carvalho was also part of that first graduating class at YSC Academy. The Richboro native made five appearances in Reading last summer and recorded a goal and an assist in 17 games for Northeastern in his second collegiate season in the fall.

The four academy grads join three other returning players announced Thursday on the 2017 roster in Paul Marie (FIU), Frantzdy Pierrot (Coastal Carolina) and Hugo Delhommelle (Syracuse).