By Aldo Amato,

RENO, Nev. – Reno 1868 FC has signed midfielder/forward Mark Anthony Gonzalez for the 2018 season, the team announced Friday pending league and federation approval.

Gonzalez joins Reno 1868 FC after spending the past two seasons with Swope Park Rangers.

“Mark is a promising young player that has already proven he can score a lot of goals in the USL,” Reno head coach Ian Russell said. “He possesses speed and is a very good finisher in the box.”

The Canadian has scored 17 goals over the past two seasons with Swope with 10 of those coming from outside of the box. His 12-goals as a rookie was a team-best in 2016 and he was named Swope’s Offensive Player of the Year that same season.

Russell said Gonzalez has the versatility to play both midfield and forward position similar to Antoine Hoppenot, who Reno re-signed on Christmas Day.

Prior to his time with Swope, the 23-year-old Gonzalez scored 27 goals during his time at the University of Evansville. He played semi-professionally before signing with Swope Park in 2016. While at Swope, Gonzalez was called up to the Canadian U-23 team for matches against Uzbekistan and Qatar.

Name: Mark Anthony Gonzalez

Pronunciation: (Gon-zah-lez)

Position: Midfielder/forward

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 185 pounds

Date of Birth: 9/9/1994

Age: 23

Hometown: Toronto, Canada

Country: Canadian

Last Club: Swope Park Rangers

How Acquired: Free Agent Signing