Forge FC has signed its third player and all three have played previously for head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.

Marcel Zajac, a 20-year-old from Mississauga who can play all three forward spots, will forgo his senior year at the University of Akron for a multi-year deal with the Hamilton team in the fledgling Canadian Premier League.

"Zajac is a player I know well," said Smyrniotis, who had Zajac as a youth player in his Sigma FC program. "But beyond that, he's one of the best players in Division 1 soccer. It's exciting for our league to get a player of that calibre."

Zajac helped the Akron Zips to the final of the NCAA championship, where they lost 1-0 to Maryland, and had been expected to attract Major League Soccer interest after his senior season.

He was injured early in the 2018 season but returned to score 11 goals and add eight assists in 19 games, including a combined three goals in the NCAA quarter-final and semifinal games. He's also been with Canada's national U-20 and U-17 programs.

Forge is expected to announce its first import player signing soon. So far only Zajac plus Canadian attacking midfielder Kyle Bekker and winger Chris Nanco, both Sigma grads, are under contract. All three signees are offensive-oriented players and that's not a coincidence.

"When you want to play a good style of possession, attacking, pressing and aggressiveness you need the right pieces in the front side of the field," Smyrniotis told The Spectator. "We're happy where we are with building our team."

smilton@thespec.com

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