Spring seemed a long time away on a cold-snap Wednesday morning in February. But that didn’t stop the preparation from starting for its April 15 season-opening game as Pacific FC began its training camp on the PISE turf at the Camosun College Interurban campus.
In camp are 18 signees and 10 trialists. Putting them through highly-structured and crisply paced drills was head coach James Merriman and his assistant coaches, making it abundantly clear that the on-field portion of business has started.
Watching the opening practice session from the sidelines, nursing a minor injury, was prize-signing Easton Ongaro. He liked what he saw.
“It looks to be an exciting and strong group,” Ongaro said.
The six-foot-six Ongaro victimized Pacific FC time and again over the years with his easy-loping but deceptive stride as he scored several times against the Tridents, even though his lowly hometown FC Edmonton squad was usually on the wrong end of the score in the Canadian Premier League match-ups.
PFC signed the 24-year-old striker, who scored 25 goals in 55 games for FC Edmonton in three CPL seasons between 2019 and 2021, before joining Vancouver Whitecaps-2 last season in MLS Next Pro with an MLS call-up to the parent Whitecaps on Aug. 13 against Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Tridents like that Ongaro has the size to play in the air and also to create a wide leg-span on the ground in the box.
It’s that intriguing potential that got European clubs Vendsyssell FF of the Danish First Division and FC UTA Arad of the Romanian Liga 1 to give him tryouts. That opportunity may come for him again, as it did for former PFC players Marco Bustos and striker Alejandro Diaz. Midfielder Bustos has signed with IFK Varnamo of the Swedish top-tier Allsvenskan. The 2022 CPL Golden Boot winner Diaz, the former Mexico U-20 and U-23 international, left mid-season last year for Sogndal of the Norwegian First Division for the second-highest transfer fee in CPL history, which Transfermarkt listed as $165,000 US.
“The CPL has grown a lot and every year you see more players getting moved up,” said Ongaro.
Ongaro was specifically brought in to replace Diaz’s goal production. For that, he will need service from the midfield.
“We want to keep the ball and create chances,” said Ongaro.
“We have a strong group in the midfield that looks like it will not only get the ball up to the strikers but also create their own scoring opportunities.”
Those forwards in camp are Ongaro, Ayman Sellouf, Adonijah Reid, Abdul Binate and Djenairo Daniels. Those attack-minded midfielders to which Ongaro alluded are Manny Aparicio, Kunle Dada-Luke, Josh Heard, Pierre Lamothe, Cedric Toussaint, Steffen Yeates and Sean Young.
The defenders in camp are Bradley Vliet, Paul Amedume, Amer Đidic, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Georges Mukumbilwa. Emil Gazdov is the goalkeeper with the back-up spot to be won and trialist Jack Garner fighting for it. The field trialists in camp are Eric Lajuenese, Brandon Torressan, Tristan Torressan, Aidan Hugo, Stefan Karjanovic, Baj Maan and Callum Weir. The Vancouver Island Wave program trialists invited to camp are Garner and midfielders Ole Cameron and Sam Marvasti.
PFC opens the 2023 CPL season against expansion franchise Vancouver FC on April 15 at Starlight Stadium.
