Pacific FC confirmed another key returning player on Monday, announcing that star attacker Marco Bustos will be back with the club for the 2022 Canadian Premier League season.

The 25-year-old Bustos has been one of Pacific’s best players the past two years, scoring 12 goals and adding 10 assists over 28 total matches. The 2021 campaign, though truncated by a mid-season knee injury, saw Bustos play 17 CPL games and provide 14 goal contributions (seven goals, seven assists). His attacking talent was impressive enough to land him third in the CPL50 rankings in December, having demonstrated his talent as one of the league’s most exciting and productive players.

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Bustos, a Winnipeg native, signed for the Tridents in 2020 as a free agent after playing the 2019 CPL season for his hometown club Valour FC. Prior to arriving in the CPL, Bustos played for Oklahoma City Energy in the USL, having spent the majority of his career to that point with the Vancouver Whitecaps, where he appeared both for the reserve side and the first team in MLS. Bustos also has experience representing his country, with six caps for the senior national team plus a number of appearances at the youth level at the 2013 U-17 World Cup and the 2015 Concacaf U-20 Championship.

With this news, Pacific now have 13 players confirmed for their 2022 roster, 12 of which are returning from the 2021 squad. James Merriman’s side will also be joined by newcomer Amer Didic in defence.

The defending champion Tridents get their 2022 season underway on Sunday, April 10, when they host Forge FC at Starlight Stadium in a rematch of the 2021 CPL Final (7 pm ET/4 pm PT, on OneSoccer).