New England Revolution defender Chris Tierney has had a long and successful MLS career, but the 32-year-old has decided to hang up his playing boots.

Tierney announced his retirement from professional soccer, finishing as the longest-tenured outfield player in club history. The 13th overall selection in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft, finishes his career ranked in the top four in club history in several major statistical categories, such as games played, games started, minutes played, assists, and game-winning assists.

He played in 246 regular season games during his career in New England, scoring 13 goals and registering 40 assists in over 19,000 minutes played. Though never winning an MLS Cup, Tierney did help the Revs to two finals appearances in 2014 and 2016, while also winning the Revolution Defender of the Year in 2016.

“After 11 seasons, the time has come for me to step away from the game I love,” Tierney said. “I feel honored and privileged to have been able to live my dream of playing for the club I grew up supporting. The New England Revolution has always been, and will continue to be, a huge part of my life. Retirement has been a difficult decision, but I walk away with the satisfaction of knowing that I gave everything I had.”

Impact add two homegrown players for 2019

After barely missing out on the MLS Cup Playoffs this season, Montreal Impact head coach Remi Garde has already begun making roster moves ahead of 2019.

The Impact announced the signing of two Homegrown defenders on Friday, adding left back Daniel Kinumbe and right back/midfielder Clement Bayiha as depth to their backline. Both players have signed a contract for 2019 with three option years.

“Daniel Kinumbe and Clement Bayiha are two young players with good potential,” Garde said. “They put a lot of work in training during the 2018 preseason with the pro’s and I think they have an interesting progress margin.”

Kinumbe, 19, trained with the Impact first team in 2018 before finishing his season with the Impact U-19’s. He then signed with Ottawa Fury FC on Aug. 6th, playing for the USL outfit for the rest of the season.

Like Kinumbe, Bayiha trained with the Impact before also joining Ottawa on July 24th. Born in Cameroon, Bayiha joined the Impact Academy in 2016 from club AS Blainville. He has also seen time with the Canada U-21 team at this past summer’s Toulou Tournament.

Orlando City agrees partnership with Bundesliga club Wolfsburg

Orlando City has agreed to a partnership with German club Wolfsburg, the club announced Friday.

Wolfsburg currently operates both men’s and women’s teams in the Bundesliga and Frauen-Bundesliga respectively, and will be a great addition for Orlando City who head into its fifth MLS season.

This marks the fourth international partnership that Orlando City has agreed to in its career, and the first with a women’s team. With the addition of Wolfsburg, Orlando City now has ties to clubs in Germany, England, Portugal, and Brazil.

“This is a fantastic addition for Orlando City SC as we enter our fifth season in MLS and fourth in the NWSL,” General Manager Niki Budikic said. “We enter 2019 with a solid understanding of where we’ve been and where we wat to be and are confident this partnership with VfL Wolfsburg will be mutually beneficial as it continues to grow.”

As for Wolfsburg in the 2018-19 campaign, the men’s side is currently 12th in the German top-flight with 12 points through 11 matches. The women’s team sits atop the Frauen-Bundesliga, with 24 points through eight matches.

Atlanta United’s Larentowicz, Carleton, Vazquez all return to training

Atlanta United kick off its MLS Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Red Bulls on Nov. 25th and could receive a huge boost ahead of the two-legged tie.

Five Stripes head coach Tata Martino announced on Friday that midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Andrew Carleton, and forward Brandon Vazquez all returned to training.

Larentowicz had missed time due to a muscle injury, making 35 appearances for the East’s runners-up this season. His leadership has been huge for Atlanta in midfield, playing in a more-defensive role this season.

Carleton has only made seven appearances in 2018, due to the depth Atlanta poses in midfield. The 18-year-old has been battling the flu, and last appeared on Oct. 21st against the Chicago Fire. Vazquez has been out the lengthiest of the trio, last seeing the field on Sept. 30th against New York.

Martino also stated that midfielder Darlington Nagbe and fullback Chris McCann may return next week.

Atlanta hosts the Red Bulls at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 25th, before traveling to Harrison, N.J. for the second leg just four days later.

FC Cincinnati, Fire to play in 2019 Carolina Challenge Cup

With preseason preparations for the 2019 MLS season right around the corner, many teams are already making decisions for tournaments and friendlies.

2019 MLS expansion side FC Cincinnati and the Chicago Fire each announced they will participate in the 2019 Carolina Challenge Cup, held in Charleston, South Carolina at the home of USL outfit, Charleston Battery.

The tournament will take place in February, with doubleheaders on Feb. 16th, 20th, and 23rd at MUSC Health Stadium. In addition to Cincinnati, Chicago, and Charleston, a fourth team, an MLS club will be named at a later date.

2019’s edition will be the 15th held all-time.

Here is the schedule for the preseason tournament:

• Feb 16: Chicago Fire vs. TBA, Charleston Battery vs. FC Cincinnati
• Feb 20: Chicago Fire vs. FC Cincinnati, Charleston Battery vs. TBA
• Feb 23: Charleston Battery vs. Chicago Fire, FC Cincinnati vs. TBA.