Atlético Ottawa announced on Saturday the addition of Canadian Nyal Higgins, on loan from Toronto FC, to its roster ahead of the club’s historic inaugural home match at TD Place on August 14th.

Nyal Higgins, a 23-year-old defender, was selected 19th overall by Toronto FC in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, before signing a USL contract with TFC II. He spent the last season on loan in the Swedish third tier following TFCII’s withdrawal from league action due to the pandemic but returned this year to make his debut on May 22. He has since made nine appearances USL1 League action. The talented defender, who also attended Oakland University and Syracuse University on his way to the pros, brings reinforcement to an already solid centre-back core.

Atlético Ottawa Head Coach Mista on the addition of Nyal and fellow Canadian Matthew Arnone:

“We’re excited to see Matthew and Nyal join us,” said Mista. “They bring character and depth that will help us for the rest of the season. With the injuries we’re facing and the difficult schedule, we are happy to count on more options to shape our team and bring results to our fans.”

Atlético Ottawa could see one or two of these new additions be added to Head Coach Mista’s match lineup when the club travels to Hamilton to face Forge FC on Sunday afternoon (KO 1PM ET, live on OneSoccer).