The MetroStars today acquired defender/midfielder Edgar Bartolomeu from the Chicago Fire as compensation for the rights to midfielder Andy Williams. Bartolomeu becomes the league maximum third senior international for the Metros, joining midfielder Amado Guevara and forward Jaime Moreno.

"We are very excited to have Edgar with us," said MetroStars Head Coach Bob Bradley. "He gives us another option on the left side, since he can play both left back and midfield. He had a tremendous 2002 season for the Long Island Rough Riders, helping them win the D-3 championship. He was very good coming forward from the left."

The 26-year-old Bartolomeu spent the 2002-03 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) season with the Philadelphia Kixx, scoring four goals and four assists in 31 games. In the 2001-02 season, he helped the Kixx hoist the MISL championship for the first time after dethroning the defending champion Milwaukee Wave. He played a total of 94 games with eight goals and 14 assists in three seasons in the MISL (previously the National Professional Soccer League) with the Buffalo Blizzard (NPSL) and the Kixx before joining the Long Island Rough Riders for the 2002 D-3 Pro season.

At the Rough Riders, Bartolomeu played 15 games, logging 1,251 minutes with two goals scored. He helped the team defeat the Wilmington Hammerheads, 2-1, to claim the D-3 Pro championship. The team defeated the New York Freedoms by a penalty kick tiebreaker in the Conference Finals, which saw Bartolomeu convert his opportunity. In the semifinals, Long Island dropped the Connecticut Wolves in the single-elimination playoffs.

"I am very glad we could work out a deal with the MISL," said MetroStars President and General Manager Nick Sakiewicz. "It is nice that the two leagues can work together to make opportunities available for players in both leagues. We are happy to have Edgar join the MetroStars."

The versatile left-footed Bartolomeu also spent the 1999 and 2000 A-League seasons with the Toronto Lynx, where he played 11 games. In 1995 and 1996, he played professionally in Portugal.

Bartolomeu will wear jersey number four with the MetroStars.