ELTON DE OLIVEIRA JOINS STARS ON LOAN FROM HARRISBURG

Following two consecutive games in which four and eleven players respectively were unavailable due to COVID protocols, and a span in which the Tacoma Stars will play three games in four days next week, the team has announced a few additions to the roster.

Elton De Oliveira

Harrisburg Heat and Eastern Conference All-Star defender Elton De Oliveira will join the Stars on loan for the remainder of the season. De Oliveira scored a fourth quarter goal for the East All-Stars in their 9-4 loss to the West. Harrisburg, like several other teams who have chosen to opt out of the 2021 season due to local and regional COVID regulations, are allowing players to compete with the seven teams currently playing.

De Oliveira, a native of Curitiba Brazil, appeared in 21 games last season for the Heat and tallied 19 points (13G-6A) to go with his 38 blocks. A tough defender who is not timid about getting in front of a shooter, De Oliveira joined Harrisburg last season after being a long-time member of the Baltimore Blast.

Willie Spurr

A player making his MASL debut this season, Willie Spurr is an alumnus of Evergreen State College and graduate of Roosevelt High School in Seattle. Spurr made 18 starts as a freshman for the Geoducks and was named the 2012 Cascade Conference Newcomer of the Year. Spurr saw his first MASL action in Tacoma’s 5-4 overtime loss in Dallas February 6.

Mark Lee

Lee returns to the Stars after having last played for the team during the 2016-17 season in which he made 18 appearances on defense for Tacoma. During his MASL hiatus, Lee has played for the Western Indoor Soccer League’s Stars Reserves which has formed a closer working arrangement under Stars head coach Nick Perera.

Tacoma Stars Reserves

The Stars Reserves compete in the WISL, which did not operate this season, with home games taking place at the Tacoma Soccer Center. The MASL Tacoma Stars have benefitted from co-head coach Adam Becker also being the head coach of the WISL squad. His familiarity of the Reserves roster has led to players such as Logan Jones, Eddie Na, Mike Arguello, Ismael Deluna, Steve Mohn, Adrian Correa, Jeff Bader, and Micah Wenzel suiting up for the Stars. That connection has been especially crucial during this season.