VANCOUVER 鈥� The Vancouver Whitecaps have signed striker Tosaint Ricketts to a new contract through 2022 with an option for 2023.
The Edmonton native is entering his 14th year as a professional.
鈥淲hen you start, you just take it one year at a time. When you鈥檙e young, you feel like it will never end and when you start to get older you feel like the end is coming," Ricketts said of his long career.聽
"But I look around, I see that a lot of the players I started with are no longer playing. So I鈥檝e got to take a little credit for myself, the way I鈥檝e kept my body, the mentality, the work ethic. I鈥檓 just happy to have another year.鈥�
The 34-year-old has scored 83 goals in 361 appearances at the club and international levels, including 17 in 61 appearances with the Canadian men鈥檚 national team.
Ricketts appeared in 14 Major League Soccer games for the Whitecaps last season and did not score.
Head coach Vanni Sartini said the "defensive striker" was still a key piece of the 'Caps team that clinched a playoff spot for the first time in four years.聽
鈥淭he togetherness that we had in the locker room last year, the togetherness that the team had with the fans last year, I think we owe a lot to Tos Ricketts," Sartini said. "The playoff qualification wouldn鈥檛 be possible without him last year.鈥�
Ricketts had five goals in 16 games for Vancouver in 2020.
He scored a career-high nine goals with Toronto FC in 2017.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2022.
The Canadian Press
