Full name Neil Menelaos Vranis Role Soccer player Position Midfielder Name Neil Vranis | Number 15 Playing position Height 1.83 m | |
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Date of birth (1990-11-07) November 7, 1990 (age 25) Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2008 Casa Mia Baltimore Bays | ||
Education Johns Hopkins University Current team Crystal Palace Balti | ||
Neil Menelaos Vranis (born November 7, 1990 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian-born American soccer player currently playing for Crystal Palace Baltimore in the USSF Division 2 Professional League.
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Youth and college
Vranis grew up in Potomac, Maryland, attended Winston Churchill High School, where he was a two-time All-Potomac Gazette selection. He also played club soccer for the Casa Mia Baltimore Bays, helping them to the 2008 National Championship while being named an All-Conference Midfielder and scoring 15 goals.
Vranis was due to play college soccer at Johns Hopkins University, where he enrolled in 2008, but was injured prior to signing his National Letter of Intent. Having already signed for Crystal Palace Baltimore, Vranis decided to forego actually playing college soccer for Johns Hopkins, and is instead combining his professional soccer career with a simultaneous degree in neuroscience.
Professional
Vranis signed with Crystal Palace Baltimore in the USL Second Division on April 21, 2009, having been recommended to the team by former Johns Hopkins University soccer coach Matt Smith, who coached Vranis at ODP level.
He made his professional debut on May 2, 2009, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 loss to the Wilmington Hammerheads, and went on to make five appearances in his debut season. On March 16, 2010 Baltimore announced the re-signing of Vranis to a new contract for the 2010 season.
Personal
Neil's father is from Greece, and as a result he holds both American and Greek citizenship.