The Philadelphia Union has announced the signing of former Penn State soccer player Jeremy Rafanello.

Rafanello joins the club on a one-and-a-half-year Homegrown contract with options for a third and fourth year, returning to Philadelphia after a five-year separation from playing for the club’s academy team.

In his short time at Penn State, Rafanello played in all 17 matches, starting in 15 of his first and only year as a Nittany Lion. He recorded three goals and one assist during that time, including a game-winner against Wisconsin. The New Jersey native was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and departed for a professional career soon after.

After Penn State, Rafanello joined FC Helsingor, then of the Danish second division. After spending one season in Denmark, he returned to the United States, where he played in the USL Championship, recording 11 goals and seven assists for Indy Eleven and New York Red Bulls II.

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Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email (jlister2021@gmail.com), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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