Dejan Jakovic is officially headed to the land of the rising run.

D.C. United announced on Tuesday that the club had transferred Jakovic to J. League Division 1 club Shimizu S-Pulse. The defender played in 18 games (17 starts) for D.C. during the 2013 season.



“We would like to thank Dejan for his contributions to our club, and for all that he did on and off the field during his time at D.C. United,” D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper said in a statement.

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The club also acquired center back Jeff Parke on Tuesday in a trade with the Philadelphia Union that sent Homegrown defender Ethan White the other way and saw the clubs swap places in the allocation order.



Jakovic originally signed with D.C. United before the 2009 season from Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) and immediately stepped into the lineup, starting 23 matches. Over the next four years, the Canadian international never played in fewer than 15 games, playing in 98 games (94 starts) and recording one goal overall for the club.



A key contributor for the Canadian national team, Jakovic has appeared in 17 games for his country since his debut on Jan. 30, 2008.