EDINBURG, TEXAS (Sat., Jan. 11, 2020) – Rio Grande Valley FC acquired midfielder Timo Mehlich and renewed a loan to secure midfielder Deshane Beckford, the club announced today.

“We are excited to bring Deshane back to RGV. He is a promising young player with incredible pace who showed us in the short time last season how dangerous he can be from a wide position,” RGV FC General Manager Nick Kowba said.

“We are very pleased to add Timo. He’s a versatile player with good size, mobility and technique. He’s an impact player with vision in the final third and the ability to score from distance. Our staff is excited at the opportunity to work with him and looking forward to continuing in his development.”

Beckford’s loan from Montego Bay United in Jamaica was renewed for the 2020 USL Championship season. The 21-year old originally joined RGV FC August 23, 2019 and started three games scoring one goal over 230 minutes played.

Before his arrival at RGV FC, the midfielder spent one season with Montego Bay United of the Red Stripe Premier League in Jamaica. Beckford appeared in 11 matches and scored three goals for Montego Bay during the 2018-19 season.

The midfielder joined the Jamaican U-23 squad for the 2019 Pan American Games where he scored three goals in three matches for the Reggae Boyz. He finished with a brace in a 2-1 victory over host country Peru.

Mehlich was acquired from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas prior to being selected in the second round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders FC. The midfielder was the first Rebel to ever earn All-WAC honors in four consecutive seasons and he earned First Team All-Conference honors in his senior season.

In his senior season, Mehlich started in 19 matches scoring 11 goals and tallied one assist for the Rebels. As a junior, Mehlich started in 15 matches and finished with 16 total appearances.

In 2017, Mehlich received Second Team All-Region honors by the United Soccer Coaches Association and First Team All-WAC honors after finishing third on the squad with 16 points with five goals and six assists.

Prior to UNLV, the 22-year old was a member of FC Monchengladbach’s youth system from 2014-16 and also played for Borussia Monchengladbach’s Academy from 2010-14.

With the addition of Beckford and Mehlich, RGV FC now have 11 players on the active roster.

PLAYER PROFILE – DESHANE BECKFORD

FULL NAME: Deshane Beckford

POSITION: Midfielder

DATE OF BIRTH: April 14, 1998

HEIGHT: 5’7”

WEIGHT: 135 lbs.

BIRTHPLACE: Montego Bay, Jamaica

HOMETOWN: Montego Bay, Jamaica

PREVIOUS CLUB: Montego Bay United

FIFA NATIONALITY: Jamaica

PLAYER PROFILE – TIMO MEHLICH

FULL NAME: Timo Mehlich

POSITION: Midfielder

DATE OF BIRTH: August 12, 1997

HEIGHT: 6’0”

WEIGHT: 175 lbs.

BIRTHPLACE: Monchengladbach, Germany

HOMETOWN: Monchengladbach, Germany

PREVIOUS CLUB: University of Nevada – Las Vegas

FIFA NATIONALITY: Germany

TRANSACTION: The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros acquire midfielders Deshane Beckford from Montego Bay United and Timo Mehlich from UNLV.

# TOROS UNIDOS #