The Ottawa Fury of the USL Premier Development League, the back-to-back defending champions of the Northeast Division, announced Thursday their first two signings of the 2011 season in Limestone College teammates Keegan Ziada and Mike Stephenson.
Ziada, born in Melbourne, Australia, led Limestone, an NCAA Division II school, to an 11-6-1 record with a team-high nine goals out of a team-best 24 points, the eighth-ranked best offense in the country, and was named to the First Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference teams as well as being named the 2010 Conference Carolinas Scholar Athlete of the Year.
He would compete in only two games for the USL PDL's DFW Tornados in 2010 due to an injury.
Before coming to the States, he played two seasons in the Victorian Premier League for Knox City SC after leading Halleybury College to two championship titles in three years.
Stephenson, a native of Bristol, England, spent eight seasons at the Bristol Rovers Academy before becoming captain at Millfield School, where he led them to a national title.
In two seasons at Limestone, he led the team to a 24-11-1 record and had three goals and three assists in 31 games.
In 2010, he was named to the All-Conference Second Team and was voted the team's defensive Most Valuable Player.
Before playing for the Saints, he spent one season at High Point University, an NCAA Division I school, where he scored one goal over 19 games. He also plays on Limestone's men's tennis team and was nationally ranked in the sport in England.
The Fury open their 2011 PDL season May 28 on the road against Forest City London before visiting Hamilton FC Rage, an expansion team, the next day. Ottawa's home opener will be June 4 against the Western Mass Pioneers.
The Fury have gone 21-0-5 in their last 26 regular season home games.
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