Tacoma Defiance add 3 more players, including a familiar face

The Tacoma Defiance signed three more players on Thursday, two with professional experience in Europe and another who came through the Sounders pro pipeline before moving to the USL Championship.

Danny Robles, 23, should be the most familiar of the three. The 23-year-old came through the Sounders Academy and played for the Defiance from 2019-21 before playing the last three seasons with the Northern California Hailstorm. Robles made 74 appearances across all competitions and had five goals for the Hailstorm. With Defiance, Robles had six goals and six assists in about 3,500 minutes.

Birame Diaw, 21, is a left back who played two seasons with RFC Liege II of the Belgian second division, making 37 appearances from 2022-24. He also made four starts for Senegal in the 2019 U17 World Cup.

Rafferty Pedder, 22, is an English midfielder who came through Tottenham’s academy. Last year he played for the Queens Park Rangers U21 team and Oxford City.

“We’re thrilled to bring Birame, Rafferty and Danny to the club,” Tacoma Defiance head coach Hervé Diese said in a team release. “Both Birame and Rafferty bring new play styles and talents to the team and I’m excited to see how we can use them to our benefit. Danny knows the heart of this club and has grown tremendously since his previous time here. Each of these players offer something special, and their combined qualities will be instrumental in achieving our goals this season.”