When Toronto FC announced the lineup for their match against Ottawa Fury on July 18, the first leg of the semifinal Canadian Championship series, there was a new name in the eighteen, one unfamiliar to even the most energetic followers of the first team: Kyle Bjornethun.
Signed to TFC II on March 15, days before the start of the 2018 USL season, the 23-year-old defender flew somewhat under the radar.
Raised in Snohomish, Washington, just outside of Seattle, Bjornethun played his college soccer at Seattle University before being selected 88th overall in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders FC, a club for whose academy and PDL sides he played.