Melvin & Roy Added to Atlético Ottawa Lineup
Today Atlético Ottawa announced the addition of two new players to its growing roster: young defender Zachary Roy and seasoned Goalkeeper Sean Melvin. While we are still waiting on an announcement about who will be leading the team from the sidelines in 2022, the club are wasting no time in bolstering its backline. For the team that shipped more goals than any other last season, this can only be good news.
Without further ado, meet your two newest Rojiblancos.
Zachary Roy
Zachary Roy is a prospect that will not be familiar to most. This 5’11” defender and son of St-Bruno, QC played his most recent soccer for the Champlain Cavaliers alongside recent Atlético Ottawa signing Zakaria Bahous in the 2021 CCAA season.
He played his club soccer with PLSQ side CS St-Hubert (alongside Atlético alum Michel Djaozandry), and while only making two senior team appearances this summer, he featured extensively for the reserve and U21 sides, registering two goals for the former and nine for the latter (scoring four in one game).
Showing talent from a young age, in 2019 he joined the Soccer Québec U17 side (while himself an U16 player) as one of the best in his age group on a trip to Ohio to take part in exhibition matches against older and more experienced sides.
This versatile player is not completely unfamiliar with the CPL landscape, either, as he had appeared in the roster of the Ontario v Quebec CPL U-21 Showcase match in 2019 where he was listed as a RW, lining up against eventual York United breakout star Max Ferrari.
While we shouldn’t expect many minutes out of Roy, working and training alongside vastly experienced players like Drew Beckie and Macdonald Niba will be invaluable for the development of this young talent.
This signing shows that not only are we plucking raw young talents from our own backyard, we are plucking them from our neighbors’ backyards as well.
Roy, identified as an up-and-coming talent, has been signed to a two-year contract, with an option for 2024.
Sean Melvin
Sean Melvin is a name that will be familiar to many, especially ones with their eyes on the West Coast. The 27-year-old Victoria born keeper stands at 6’4” and came up in the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy.
After leaving the academy for school, he spent the next few years playing NCAA ball with UNC Wilmington Seahawks as well as making PDL appearances with both Whitecaps U23 and Calgary Foothills.
In 2016 he signed with Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL, where he shared starting keeper duties with the likes of Marco Carducci and Spencer Richey. Through the 2016 and 2017 seasons he made 21 appearances, keeping four clean sheets.
After a stint with then-Whitecaps affiliate Fresno FC, as well as clocking a dozen or so bench appearances with the Whitecaps senior team in MLS, Melvin landed at Colorado Springs Switchbacks. He spent two seasons there (2020 and 2021) recording 26 appearances and registering six clean sheets, making a playoff appearance in the latter season with a narrow 1-0 loss to Orange County in the first round.
Among his teammates in Colorado were former Ottawa Fury striker Hadji Barry and former Fury/Current HFX Wanderers Attacking Midfielder Aiden Daniels.
Expect Melvin to be more than just a backup or cup keeper as he will likely be clocking significant minutes alongside #1 Nathan Ingham, a situation the latter keeper will be familiar with after last season with Niko Giantsopoulos at York United.
The 6-foot-4 Melvin, who adds experience and versatility to Atlético Ottawa’s squad, signed a one-year contract, with an option for 2023.
These two additions bring the Ottleti roster up to 15, leaving room for a further 8 full-contract players to be added with 5 international slots remaining among those. We can expect former Fury captain and Canadian International Carl Haworth to be among them, but the rest of the roster is fair game.
Don’t miss Atlético Ottawa’s home opener against Cavalry FC on April 9th and be sure to check out the CPL website for the rest of our 2022 schedule.