FENTON, Mo. – Saint Louis FC announced on Wednesday it had agreed to a contract with Costa Rican defender Erick Cabalceta, pending USL and United States Soccer Federation approval.

Cabalceta was born in San Jose, Costa Rica and played in the Municipal Tibas youth system before joining Brujas in the Costa Rican Primera Division during the 2010-11 season. He then moved to Orion in the same league, making 19 appearances and scoring four goals during the 2011-12 season. Cabalceta’s performances in the Primera Division earned him a move to Catania in the Serie A Italian first division in 2012.

Cabalceta captained Catania’s youth side for one season before joining the club’s senior team during the 2013-14 season. In August 2016, Cabalceta was loaned to AD Carmelita in the Costa Rican Primera Division. He started every game for the remainder of the season, playing the full 90 minutes in each of his 14 appearances for the club.

“Erick is a player we have been tracking for a while now,” said Saint Louis FC General Manager Jeremy Alumbaugh. “He is a younger player that brings a lot of experience at the international level as well as club experience in Italy and Costa Rica. He commands in the 18 very well and is strong with his box defending principles. His pedigree of moving to Italy at a young age shows he has a good defensive core to his game.”

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Cabalceta is a dual-citizen with Costa Rican and Italian heritage with the opportunity to play internationally for either country. He represented Costa Rica during the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championships in Mexico where they were eliminated by Cuba, the eventual fourth-place finisher.

“It will be important that Erick acclimates himself quickly to the style of play in the USL, but being a younger player with lots of experience, we believe that he will adapt,” said Alumbaugh. “We feel that we can help Erick take the next step in his development as a professional player.”