Orange County SC sign defender Kirill Antonov

Orange County SC announced on Wednesday the signing of defender Kirill Antonov, from Estonian club Nömme Kalju.

The 18-year-old usually plays left back, and made four appearances for Kalju in league play last season, to go with one game in the Europa League qualifiers. An Estonian youth international, Antonov was born in Vermont and therefore should qualify as a domestic player on Orange County SC’s roster. Finding a young player with a European pedigree and American citizenship is pretty impressive scouting, and if he’s up to the level of the USL Championship, this could be a very savvy pickup indeed.

Antonov is the latest signing for Orange County SC ahead of their season opener, which will be on Sunday at Tacoma Defiance. I’ve heard there are likely to be a couple more additions before the season kicks off, so we’ll likely find out more in the coming day or two.

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