Union Sign Holder & Richter, Waive Zimmerman & Noone; Orozco-Fiscal & Houapeu Left In Limbo [UPDATED]

The Union made a flurry of roster moves on Tuesday in accordance with the MLS roster compliance date of March 1. The team announced the signings of Trinidadian goalkeeper Thorne Holder and local striker Ryan Richter.

The team also revealed that forward/midfielder Nick Zimmerman and midfielder J.T. Noone have been waived. Both players had been a part of the Union’s preseason training camp thus far and were with the Union on minimum-salary contracts.

What the Union did not announce was the status of two other players, defender Michael Orozco-Fiscal and forward/winger Levi Houapeu. Orozco-Fiscal was rumored to be on his way out, but his departure from Philadelphia has not been officially announced anywhere. He is, however, notably absent from the team website’s roster page. More on Houapeu and the other Union trialists after the jump. [EDIT: Click to see more for an update from the club.]

Another player missing from that roster is Levi Houapeu, the team's third round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. Houapeu, like the newly signed Richter, had previously been listed on that page. But after today's announcement that Richter has been signed, Houapeu's name has disappeared and Richter's remains. It remains to be seen if the team is still interested in signing Houapeu; perhaps the Union were simply required to remove his name from the roster until officially signed per MLS rules. But that is pure speculation.

No word was given on the status of trialists Gabriel Farfan or Keon Daniel, who by all accounts are both still in camp in Greece with the Union. Holder had previously been on trial as well, but he was the only one out of this trio to be officially signed. These players are still eligible to be signed by the team, as the roster compliance date only requires teams to get under the 30 player limit and under the salary cap. The team can still sign players until the MLS transfer window closes on April 15.

[UPDATE: The Union have said the following via their Twitter account: “All players currently contracted with the club are listed on our roster page.” This probably spells bad news for Orozco-Fiscal, but could mean that there is still hope for Houapeu.]

In related news, Richter has taken the #23 jersey, which previously belonged to Zimmerman. Michael Farfan has changed to #21, which used to be Eduardo Coudet‘s. Holder will take #24. Roger Torres will wear #8, previously of Andrew Jacobson, after Carlos Ruiz took his #20.