HFX Wanderers FC announced Wednesday that it has signed right fullback Mateo Restrepo to a multi-year contract.

The former Canadian youth international finished up with the University of California at Santa Barbara this fall after four years with the NCAA Division 1 side.

A quick, forward-thinking player, the 22-year-old fullback made 66 appearances for Santa Barbara, leading the side as a captain to a quarter-final run at the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Tournament in 2019.

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“I’m excited because I’ve watched a few Wanderers games and I saw the Wanderers have by far the best atmosphere,” Restrepo said after signing with the Wanderers. “It seems like the entire community is behind the team and I think that’s great and it attracted me to the team.”

Born in La Ceja, Colombia but raised in Toronto, Restrepo made his pro debut for TFC II in the USL against FC Montreal before moving to Germany where he featured for FC Ingolstadt 04’s academy in 2015.

“He’s clean on the ball and technically sound,” Wanderers coach Stephen Hart said in a media release. “He can also get up and down the line so I’m happy to have him.”

Restrepo becomes the fourteenth confirmed member of Stephen Hart’s 2020 Wanderers squad, joining such newcomers as Daniel Kinumbe and Louis Béland-Goyette, and returnees Akeem Garcia, Alex De Carolis, and Christian Oxner.