READING, PA (May 20, 2019) – Reading United is proud to announce the return of two midfielders to the club for the 2019 season: Thibault Chretien and Gilbert Waso. Chretien is returning for his second season with the club, while Waso is returning for his third season.

Chretien, age 22, will be returning to PA for the second summer to pick up where he left off. Last season, the Laval, France native played in two games totaling 20 minutes before leaving the team due to injury. The midfielder just finished up his sophomore year at Lander University, where he made ten starts in 18 appearances.

During his two seasons at Lander University, the speedy French winger was named to United Soccer Coaches First Team All-Southeast Region and Second Team D2CCA All Southeast Region.  Chretien netted two goals, five assists, and nine points for the Bearcats this past season to help Lander reach the NCAA Quarterfinals.

“We’re excited to have Thibault back in to Reading, as he was fantastic with us last year, but the summer got cut short with an injury,” announced Reading head coach, Alan McCann. “We feel he can be a huge addition to the team and has many tools to unlock any opposing team in the final third.”

Waso is also coming back to Reading for his third straight summer with the club. During the last two seasons, the Congo native played in 25 games for the United, falling just short of 1,000 total minutes while registering two assists and one goal.

Waso is a recent Elizabethtown College graduate, where he played in 78 games tallying 44 goals, 27 assists, and 115 points for the Blue Jays during the career. Waso is a two-time NCAA DIII First Team All-American, and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Mid-Atlantic Region First Team on three occasions.  During his junior year as a Bluejay, the attacking wing was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Mid Atlantic Region Second Team and All-Landmark Conference First Team.

“It’s great to have Gilly back for another summer,” continued McCann. “He has been a big part of the success over the last few years, and is a character that everyone loves. The timing for him moving onto the next level just was off slightly with him graduating, so hopefully this summer can help him to move on up to the professional ranks.”

Both players get a chance to notch their first league minutes during the home opener on May 25 at John Gurski Stadium at 7:00 pm.  Season tickets are still available for purchase at https://www.readingunitedac.com/tickets.   Single game tickets are also available online for only $5 or day-of at the gate for $10.