VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today the addition of Residency attacking midfielder Kianz Froese. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Whitecaps FC midfielder Kianz Froese
- Made first-team debut on May 7, 2014 vs. TFC in the Amway Canadian Championship
- Earned first call-up to Canadian senior men’s national team in September 2013
- Started all three matches for Canada at 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
- Scored 15 goals in 46 matches with Whitecaps FC U-18 in the USSDA
- Scored four goals in seven matches with Whitecaps FC U-23 during 2014 USL PDL season
“Kianz has a great technical element to his game and an athleticism that will serve him well as he steps up to the next level,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. “He’s worked hard to earn this opportunity and we’re excited to see him continue his progression.”
Froese, 18, will be added to the active roster effective immediately and will be eligible to play during the remainder of the 2014 MLS season. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound midfielder made his Whitecaps FC first-team debut this year in the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinal series against Toronto FC, starting and playing 77 minutes.
“Since I was little, I always said that I wanted to be a professional soccer player,” said Froese. “Today, finally I’m achieving that dream. I am thankful to my family, friends, and all of my coaches who have supported me the whole way through.”
Since joining the Residency program in 2012, Froese has started 40 of his 46 appearances and scored 15 goals for Whitecaps FC U-18 in the USSDA. With Whitecaps FC U-23 in the USL PDL, Froese has started 10 of his 15 appearances and scored five goals.
Internationally, Froese was called into Canada’s senior men’s national team camp for the first time in September 2013 and again this past January, scoring a goal during a friendly match against Fort Lauderdale Strikers. At the youth level, Froese was recently called up to the Canadian U-20 national team, helping Canada to a second place finish at the Dale Farm Milk Cup in Northern Ireland.
In 2013, the talented midfielder started all three matches for Canada at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Froese, who was born in Havana, Cuba, and spent time in both Cuba and his hometown of Brunkild, Manitoba, in his youth, was a member of Cuba’s U-17 national team back in 2011.
Froese joins Sam Adekugbe, Bryce Alderson, Marco Bustos, Marco Carducci, Caleb Clarke, Ethen Sampson, and Russell Teibert as current Homegrown players on the club’s MLS roster, bringing the club’s total to 11 all-time Homegrown player signings.
Kianz Froese
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-9
Weight: 170 pounds
Date of Birth: April 16, 1996, in Havana, Cuba
Hometown: Brunkild, Manitoba
Citizenship: Canada, Cuba
Status: Domestic, Homegrown
Youth Club: Portage Trail
How Acquired: Signed to an MLS contract on Monday, September 15, 2014
