Although Neal Kitson was born and raised in New York City, his parents grew up in England and it's where he always has wanted to be called a professional "footballer."

That dream came true on Thursday.

The 25-year-old goalkeeper who spent the past two seasons playing for the Rochester Rhinos signed with Northampton Town Football Club in England's fourth division. The signing is pending international transfer clearance.

Kitson re-signed with the Rhinos last fall, but had a provision in his contract allowing for a free transfer to a Major League Soccer or European club before Feb. 1.

"It's an opportunity for me to earn a long contract in England," Kitson said. "These few months are an opportunity for the (Northampton) manager to see if he thinks I'm capable."

The English season will end by early May, but the Rhinos and new coach Jesse Myers have no interest in bringing Kitson back after the USL PRO League season has started. Rochester opens April 14 at Los Angeles.

"This was his goal in life. That's what Neal wanted, so I wish him the best," Myers said. "We knew this was a possibility, so I've talked to all the goalkeeper coaches I know in MLS, including (D.C. United's) Pat Onstad, so I'm sure I can get someone of the same quality, or better.

"This leaves us with about 150 choices with all the goalies in this country. This will not be difficult."

Myers is scheduled to leave today for the USL Combine in Tampa.

Kitson said he'll be a backup keeper at Northampton. He thanked the Rhinos and their fans for their support. He was the full-time starter all of last year, a second-team all-league pick and Goalie of the Year finalist. His 12 wins tied for tops in the league and his nine shutouts were tied for second.

The former St. John's star went 21-13-5 with 16 shutouts for the Rhinos.

"I've always wanted to try to go to the highest level and the last two years definitely helped my chances," Kitson said. "(Former Rhinos coach) Bob Lilley brought a lot of good out of me, and I met some great guys in Rochester that are among my best friends."

I'm loving Northampton this season.

If you are doing an accumulator, you just pick the team Northampton are playing and forget about it - its in the bag. It's like getting an extra team on your line for nothing.

PS - I feel your pain.

As for the American victory, I couldn't be happier about it, but it really isn't that big of a deal outside of the fact that it proves Klinsmann is the right man for the job and that Clint Dempsey is by far the best player on the team.

I'll be more excited if we dominate the Olympic qualifying tournament and beat Mexico in the Championship game in KC.

I think Scotland's next game is against the USA....

Yeah, the game is being played in Jacksonville, FL on May 26th.
They had mentioned having it played in the Midwest, so I was hoping for KC at that point, but then the Semifinals and Finals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers got scheduled in KC for late March and Early April. I don't know what sort of squad the USA will field against the Scots, since they play Brazil four days later, but they need to be ready for the start of World Cup qualifying as well.