The Kitsap Pumas, the 2011 United Soccer League Premier Development League champions, signed 10 players March 30 for the upcoming season. Pending USL and PDL approval, six of the players return from last year’s squad. Assistant coach Dustyn Brim, goalkeeper Zak Lubin, defenders Taylor Hyde and Steve Mohn, midfielder Matt Friesen and midfielder/defender Kyle Johnson are among those returning

“We’re excited to get a core of the championship team back,” head coach James Ritchie said. “We think we can build around them. With the new boys coming in, we expect a high level of football from them. We think it’ll be an exciting year.”

New Kitsap Pumas include goalkeeper Liviu Bird, a player for the Puma reserves last year. Bird played for Highline Community College for two years before transferring to Seattle Pacific University.

Two players, forward Christopher Bettencourt and defender Pierre Rappolt, were selected through a Bay area talent finding excursion in California. A graduate of Sacramento State University, Bettencourt earned first-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors last season. Rappolt is a graduate of Skyline Community College and last season played for DV8, a men’s amateur team from the Bay area Peninsula Soccer League.

Midfielder Daniel Macleod, a native of Scotland, rounds out the current signings. Macleod played for the country’s U19 international team.