Veteran All-League Defender Latest in Busy Week of Hartford Signings
The French defender in set to enter his sixth year in the USL Championship.
As Hartford Athletic’s 2024 roster continues to take shape, the club announced Thursday the signing of two-time All-League veteran defender Thomas Vancaeyezeele.
Entering his sixth season in the USL Championship, Vancaeyezeele comes to Hartford off the back of an Eastern Conference Final run with Tampa Bay Rowdies in two seasons ago, where he featured in eight games. The experienced defender initially came into the league in 2018, spending the better part of three seasons with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds before brief stints with the San Diego Loyal (2021) and the Birmingham Legion (2021-22).
The versatile defender amassed 135 appearances in all competitions in that stretch, scoring six goals and assisting three in more than 10,000 minutes. A regular starter with the Riverhounds in his first three years in the league, the French Guinean international made 88 appearances for the club, and was also recognized in a pair of selections to the 2019 All-League Second Team and 2020 All-League First Team.
Internationally, Vancaeyezeele has 13 caps for his native French Guiana, including a pair of appearances in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Just two days beforehand, the second of three additions this week was announced in the signing of Sierra Leonean international Emmanuel Samadia. The 22-year-old midfielder comes to Hartford after three years in Israel’s second division, where he scored 2 goals and assisted 10 through 89 appearances for Hapoel Umm al-Fahm and Hapoel Rishon leZion.
The midfielder also has 13 caps for Sierra Leone since his debut in 2020, most recently picking up a pair of assists in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
The two signings join midfielder Jay Chapman and goalkeeper Renan Ribeiro as the four new additions for Hartford in the offseason. Danny Barrera is the only confirmed returner, while the search for a head coach is still ongoing.