Storm signs Patterson for XSL season

The Chicago Storm has signed forward Randi Patterson, 23, for the 2008-2009 Xtreme Soccer League season.

Patterson, a Hackensack, N.J., native, was selected by the New York Red Bulls in the first round of the 2007 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft. He spent this past summer with the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues First Division alongside the Storm's Stephen Armstrong and Lazo Alavanja, leading the Battery with 10 goals and 21 points.

The American-born, Trinidadian soccer player also has participated with the Trinidad and Tobago National Team. "Randi is a quality young player, and I'm excited to see how he adapts to indoor," Storm head coach Steve Morris said. "He seems to have the skill set, and he adds some pace to the team. He's a goal scorer, obviously, leading the Charleston Battery this summer. He's represented Trinidad at the national team level. He's got pace, quickness, and he's willing to mix it up in the corners. He's got a knack around the goal."

Patterson scored 61 goals and added 19 assists in his collegiate career with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he was a two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year and National Soccer Coaches Association of American All-American selection.

Patterson enters the 2008-2009 XSL season as the second-youngest player on the Storm, seven months older than Storm defender Gabriel Cigliano.

"As a whole, I think indoor has badly needed some fresh new talent," Morris said. "You're seeing newer, fresher faces, and it's time to see what some of these young players have. When you put that together with a solid base of veterans, it's a nice blend."

The Chicago Storm enters its fifth season of professional indoor soccer. Chicago's 2008-2009 Xtreme Soccer League season kicks off with a road game at New Jersey on Sunday, Dec. 14, and the Storm's home opener takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, against Milwaukee at the Sears Centre Arena.