SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The San Antonio Scorpions have signed veteran holding midfielder and ODU All-American Nane Joseph (ODU' 10), team President/GM Howard Cornfield and Head Coach Alen Marcina announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Nane is a player we've admired for a while and we’re certainly familiar with his ability from playing against him during his time with the Cosmos,” said Marcina. “He is a fierce competitor with championship experience, he is powerful yet technical with the ball, and he adds defensive bite to the center of the park for us. We're delighted to welcome Nane to the Scorpions as someone who fits right in line with the vision we're building towards this season."
The 6’2”, 185lb Joseph was selected in the 2010 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft by Toronto FC and made his professional debut for the Canadian club later that year. In 2011, he was traded to the Colorado Rapids and his MLS resume includes starts in the CONCACAF Champions League, the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, and the MLS Cup Playoffs in addition to 1,368 minutes played in the regular season. In 2013, he signed with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) and went on to capture the Soccer Bowl with them that November. The native of Yaounde, Cameroon, played collegiate soccer at Old Dominion University.
Joseph was a 2009 second team NSCAA All-American at ODU. He was a First team All-CAA and All-State selection. Joseph was the 2009-10 ODU Alumni Association Co-Male Athlete of the Year after he led ODU with 15 points on six goals and three assists. He led the CAA with a perfect 4-4 in penalty kicks along with four game winning goals. He started his second pro match for Toronto.
The Scorpions also announced the signing of San Antonio native Matt Cardone. The 6’3”, 215lb goalkeeper attended Trinity University. While there, he was a two-time Division-III All-American and posted a 0.49 career goals against average. Prior to joining the Scorpions, he was a trialist with MLS expansion team Orlando City SC.