Fabian Straudi, a skillful winger who lined up alongside current Juventus and German national team striker Nick Woltemade in Werder Bremen’s academy before starring for Oregon State University, has signed with Cascades FC, the club announced today. The signing is pending league and federation approval.
Straudi, who spent this year playing professionally for Kormákur/Hvöt in Iceland’s 2. deild karla division, is the second announced player in Cascades FC history, after the club announced former Sporting Kansas City defender Jonathan Robinson last week.
“What really attracted me to Cascades FC was [former Lane United FC head coach John Galas] before he sadly passed away,” said Straudi. “I had a lot of talks with him, and he came to our games at OSU. I found him really inspiring, and I liked the project he presented to me in Eugene, in an area I’m familiar with having gone to college in Oregon.
“When I connected with [Cascades FC head coach Darren Sawatzky] we talked about his football philosophy, and what he wants to do fits my way of playing perfectly. I cannot wait to get back to Eugene in January for preseason and get started.”
The Bruneck, Italy, native started every match for Kormákur/Hvöt during his rookie season, scoring four goals and adding a further 12 assists.
That came on the heels of four years in Corvallis, where he scored four goals and added 21 assists in 34 starts for the Beavers, finishing his collegiate career second on Oregon State University’s career assists list. While at OSU he was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team and All-West Coast Conference Second Team, and was named to the Pac-12 Honor Roll twice.
During Straudi’s junior season in 2023, the Beavers advanced all the way to the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament semifinals, where they lost to eventual national runners-up Notre Dame.
Before attending Oregon State University, Straudi spent four years with Bundesliga side SV Werder Bremen’s academy. During his time with Bremen’s U19 side, he scored twice and added 7 assists in 37 appearances, finding the back of the net against St. Pauli U19 and RB Leipzig U19, and setting teammates up against Osnabrück U19, Niendorf U19, Hannover 96 U19, Holstein Kiel U19, and Wolfsburg U19.
“Fabian is a fiery winger with the ability to take players on individually, but he also has a good game acumen and knows when it is time to connect with teammates to break lines,” said Sawatzky. “He has the ability to create chances from varied areas and he is the consummate teammate.
“Coming up through the Bremen player pathway allowed Fabian a look at high level football in a country that develops players at the highest level of the game. That experience will help him in USL League One, with the rigors of a 10-month season with so many different playing styles in a physical league.”
