Ashley Messier builds hockey legacy with sights on PWHL, Olympics
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Mark Messier is her distant cousin, but this Sask. hockey product is carving her own path.
Canadian international striker Marcus Haber, who spent last season with Pacific FC, has joined Cavalry FC.
The 31-year-old from Vancouver has won 27 caps for Canada with three goals. The six-foot-four forward, who missed part of last year with a knee injury, had four goals in 15 appearances in all competitions for Pacific FC in the Canadian Premier League’s inaugural 2019 season.
“Marcus is a big signing for us in both his playing experience and his physical presence on the pitch,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement issued by the Calgary club.
“He’s a terrific old-fashioned target man that on his day is a handful for any defender, as our centre-backs testified from marking him last year. His body of work prior to joining the league bodes very well for us, giving us some valuable experience that we are confident will be an extremely valuable asset for our squad this season.”
Haber started his career with his hometown Vancouver Whitecaps in 2009 when he won USL Rookie of the Year honours. He then moved to Europe, spending time with West Bromwich Albion, Stevenage and Crewe Alexandra in England and St. Johnstone and Dundee in Scotland.
He returned to Canada in 2019 to join Pacific FC in Langford, B.C.
In other CPL news, Forge FC sold veteran goalkeeper David Monsalve to Guatemala’s Club Xelaju MC and signed three Canadian players.
The 31-year-old Monsalve signed with the Canadian Premier League champion on Feb. 25 and had been training with the Hamilton club.
Monsalve spent part of 2016 with Guatemala’s Club Deportivo Suchitepequez. He was with Ottawa Fury FC the last two seasons and has also played club football in Colombia, Finland and Sweden.
A former youth international, he made one senior appearance for Canada in 2010 in a friendly against Jamaica.
Also Friday, Forge signed goalkeeper Baj Maan and defender Jordan Dunstan, as well as forward Gabriel Balbinotti, who agreed to a U-Sports development contract.
The 19-year-old Maan joined Forge on a development contract last summer, spending time on the active roster before heading to Northern Kentucky University in the fall.
Dunstan, 27, played for Chattanooga FC in the National Premier Soccer League and Nashville SC in the United Soccer League. The native of Mississauga, Ont., played collegiate soccer at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn.
Balbinotti, 21, was selected by Forge FC seventh overall in the 2019 CPL-U-Sports draft out of UQTR. The Montreal native was previously part of the Montreal Impact youth setup.
Forge also announced that midfielder Giuliano Frano has left the club.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2020.
The Canadian Press