Pacific Football Club added defenders Hendrik Starostzik and Lukas MacNaughton to their roster on March 7 pending International Transfer Certification (ITC) approval.
German-born Starostzik and Belgium-raised MacNaughton are expected to provide stability and size to the team’s back line. Michael Silberbauer, head coach for Pacific FC, says he couldn’t be happier with the additions to the team.
“With Hendrik we have added a player that has already been in an extremely competitive environment in Germany and we expect a lot from him. Lukas has been one of the best defenders in League1 Ontario and we feel he is a perfect match for our group,” said Silberbauer.
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The two new additions come two days after attacker Issey Nakajima-Farran joined the Pacific FC on March 5 following a multi-continent professional career and being capped 38 times with the Canadian Senior National Team.
Starostzik, 27, played professionally in Germany since 2010 including a year-long stint with Dynamo Dresden (2016-17) of Bundesliga, Germany’s second division. He says this is a big adventure for him and is particularly happy to be living on Vancouver Island.
MacNaughton, 23, was born in the U.S. but played youth football in Brussels, Belgium. The centre back played for the University of Toronto Blues from 2013 to 2017 and was named the team’s top scorer in 2016. MacNaughton represented Canada at the 2015 FISU Games in South Korea and the 2017 FISU Games in Taipei. Most recently, he was named a League1 Ontario All-Star as a member of Alliance United in 2018, where he registered 579 minutes through 10 appearances.
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Nakajima-Farran was born in Canada and raised in Japan and England, making a name for himself playing in Japan, Singapore, Denmark, Cyprus, Australlia, Spain and Malaysia before returning to home to play in the Canadian Premier League. Nakajima-Farran says he’s always felt the most at home playing in Canada.
The new addtions will join the rest of the team for a pre-season training camp beginning March 8 in Tofino.
Pacific FC kicks off its inaugural season on April 28 against HFX Wanderers art Westhills Stadium.
For season ticket information click here.
kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca
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