The Houston Dynamo have signed Rio Grande Valley FC goalkeeper Devin Perales to a Short Term Agreement due to extreme hardship. Perales will join the Dynamo immediately and be eligible for selection tonight at Sporting Kansas City.
Perales joins the Dynamo for tonight’s game following injuries to goalkeepers Calle Brown and Tyler Deric. Brown suffered a concussion in practice on Wednesday and Deric is recovering from a left elbow sprain suffered on August 21 while on loan to Rio Grande Valley FC. With Perales and Joe Willis, the Dynamo now have two available goalkeepers for tonight’s game. Willis has started eight consecutive games and made 16 appearances this season.
Per MLS roster rules and regulations, Clubs may add players to their roster in cases of “Extreme Hardship.” Extreme Hardship exists when an MLS club has fewer than 15 total players available or when an MLS club with three goalkeepers on its roster, has fewer than two goalkeepers available. A Short Term Agreement allows Clubs to sign players, 25-years-old or younger, from their USL affiliate (on loan) for a four-day contract for MLS league season games only in cases of Extreme Hardship.
Perales, an Austin native, has made five appearances for Rio Grande Valley this season, allowing seven goals. The 23-year-old played for Lonestar SC in his youth career followed by one season at Southern Methodist University and two seasons at Coastal Carolina University. In the summer of 2013, Perales led the Austin Aztex to a PDL national title and was a finalist for the league’s goalkeeper of the year award. Two years later, he left school early to sign his first professional contract with the Aztex for their first season in USL. Perales made 16 appearances (15 starts) and recorded five shutouts for the Aztex in 2015.
The Dynamo face Sporting Kansas City at 7 p.m. CDT tonight at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. The match will air nationally on UniMás (channel guide) as part of Viernes de Fútbol.
Transaction: Dynamo sign Rio Grande Valley FC goalkeeper Devin Perales to a Short Term Agreement due to extreme hardship on September 9, 2016.
