Yamikani Chester is coming off of his first season in the United States, where he played for USL Championship’s North Carolina FC. The Malawi native scored five goals in the 970 minutes of action he saw on the field.

“[Tabort Etaka] Preston was a great player for our team last season, but his plan was always to explore his options outside of the U.S. for next season. As a result, we need to replace him and Chester is the perfect guy to do so,” said Wynalda. “He’s faster and a little bit more experienced. He has all the qualities that we look for in that position. We had a player profile that we wanted to fit this off-season to ensure we improve and he checked all the boxes.”

Chancel Ndaye is a 20-year-old defender whose speed as a right-back makes him a difference-maker. He has two caps with the Burundi National Team and played in the three group stage matches for his country in the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

“NDaye has a lot of potential that he has shown in the games that we've seen, we've been tracking him for over a year now,'' said Wynalda. “As a young talent we have to be cautious to not expect too much, but this is also the logic in bringing experienced players like [new Lights FC signing Ramon] Martin Del Campo who can put an arm around a young player and give him good guidance. Our new backline right now is something to be reckoned with. It will be very strong and fast with Javan [Torre] on one side, NDaye on the other and the big boys in the middle. It's not going to be easy to play against us.”