PHILADELPHIA – Dustin Barno, a two-time All-PSAC East first team defensive tackle at East Stroudsburg University, has re-signed with the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League, it was released Thursday.

Barno (Easton/Easton) enters his third year with the Soul, which advanced to the ArenaBowl by winning the American Conference championship last season.

Barno began his AFL career in 2004, playing four-plus seasons with the Colorado Crush before finishing the 2008 season with the Arizona Rattlers. In 2005, he was a member of Colorado's ArenaBowl championship team. The standout defensive lineman has tallied 128.5 total tackles, 31.0 sacks, 14 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and five blocked kicks over his AFL career.

At ESU, Barno tallied 143 tackles, 36 tackles for a loss and 17.5 sacks while earning mention on the All-PSAC East first team in 2001 and 2002.

He played in the 2003 Cactus Bowl, setting a bowl record with two sacks. As a senior in 2002, he posted 45 tackles, 11 TFL, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He was fourth in the PSAC with 7.0 sacks as a junior and had 39 total tackles, including 10 TFL. He had 46 tackles, 12 TFL and 5.0 sacks as a sophomore and appeared in nine games as a freshman in 1999.

Barno is one of six players signed by the Soul this week, joining defensive lineman/linebacker Morkeith Brown (Temple), quarterback Steven Gachette (Southwest Baptist), defensive back Darius Pettigrew (West Georgia), wide receiver Armand Robinson (Miami, Ohio) and defensive back James Romano (Delaware State).

“We are pleased with this group of players coming to Philadelphia,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “The road to the ArenaBowl begins with a  competitive training camp and these signings demonstrate that we are moving in that direction.”

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA SOUL
The Philadelphia Soul capped their seventh Arena Football League season by capturing the 2012 American Conference championship.  The Soul will open their season on Saturday, March 23 in a re-match of ArenaBowl XXV when they travel to Phoenix to play the Arizona Rattlers on CBS Sports Network.  For 2013 season tickets, contact the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or request contact from a representative by filling out the form on www.philadelphiasoul.com.  Follow the Soul on Facebook at facebook.com/soul and Twitter at twitter.com/soulfootball.