York9 FC announced on Thursday that one of their biggest additions of last off-season will be sticking around. The club confirmed that winger Michael Petrasso has re-signed in York Region for both the 2021 and 2022 Canadian Premier League seasons.
Petrasso, 25, didn’t factor into York9’s 2020 CPL campaign in PEI as much as he would’ve hoped, with injuries limiting him to just three appearances before the Nine Stripes failed to qualify for the second round of The Island Games.
However, the Woodbridge, Ont. native is expected to be a valuable part of the club’s attack going forward.
In 2019, Petrasso played 18 games for Valour FC, scoring six goals, before leaving Winnipeg to join his hometown club in the off-season. Prior to signing in the CPL, Petrasso had played at various high levels all over the world, beginning with English Championship side Queens Park Rangers, before going out on loan to several League One sides in England and, ultimately, returning to Canada to play for the Montreal Impact.
Petrasso also has nine caps for the Canadian men’s team, having made his senior debut in 2016 against Azerbaijan.
“I’m delighted that Michael has decided that this is the club for him and that he wants to continue at York9 FC – he wants to be here,” York9 FC managing consultant Angus McNab said in a statement.
“He was a pleasure to deal with as we sorted all of this and his priority is pretty simple: get back to being the best forward in this competition. Michael was hugely frustrated with his 2020 season and he’s just shown all of us he wants to get back to football and improve. What a great example for our young guys and, frankly, everyone in our squad.”
Although he didn’t play much, Petrasso did show promising signs at The Island Games, finishing with a pass success rate of 84.2 per cent and five shots in his 130 minutes of work.
“I’m thrilled to make this commitment to York9 FC,” Petrasso said. “I’m extremely happy to be here and be a part of what we’re building. I want to play a major role in the growth of the club moving forward. That’s really important to me.”
