5. ABROAD: Liberty's Roberts signs with Sparta Rotterdam
- by Soccer America , Feb 16, 2007
Liberty's Darryl Roberts is the latest collegian to head to Europe, signing an 18-month contract with Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam.
Roberts, the all-time leading scorer in Liberty history (94 career points), recently played for Trinidad & Tobago at the 2007 Digicel Caribbean Cup. The Trincity, Trinidad native was a Soccer America All-Freshman selection in 2002 and he was a medical red-shirt in 2005. Besides playing for Liberty and Trinidad and Tobago, for which he has eight caps, Roberts played three seasons with the Carolina Dynamo of the PDL.
"He is an outstanding player with that 'WOW' factor when he has the ball at his feet," said Flames coach Jeff Alder, "but more importantly he is a great human being who will be a great role model for young players."
South Florida's Kareem Smith, who has in the U.S. and Trinidad & Tobago national youth team systems, signed with KI, which finished fourth in last season's Faeroe Islands championship.
Notre Dame's Greg Dalby and Ian Etherington and San Diego's Ryan Guy, all Southern California products, have had trials at several prominent European clubs.
EUROPEAN SIGNINGS (2006 Collegians):
Charlie Davies Boston College to Hammarby (Sweden)
Tally Hall San Diego State to Esbjerg (Denmark)
Steve Purdy California to 1860 Munich II (Germany)
Darryl Roberts Liberty to Sparta Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Luis Robles Portland to Kaiserslautern II (Germany)
Kareem Smith South Florida to KI (Faeroe Islands)
