Canadian men's soccer team goalkeeper Pat Onstad as seen in this 2008 photoPaul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Pat Onstad, a former Canadian international goalie and Toronto FC chief scout, has joined the Columbus Crew as an assistant coach.
The 43-year-old Onstad left Toronto in the fall when Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, cleaned out the front office.
The Crew also named Rob Maaskant an assistant on head coach Gregg Berhalter's staff.
"Both of today's hires make our club stronger heading into the 2014 season," Berhalter, who is also the club's sporting director, said in a statement Friday. "Pat is very professional in how he approaches the game, and he brings versatility to his new role. He has great league experience and a winning pedigree, and those are attributes that attracted us to bringing him onboard. Rob brings a wealth of experience to the table and tactical knowledge to the first team from his career across Europe. He's also going to be a strong resource for our club."
In other MLS news Friday, former Vancouver coach Tom Soehn joined the New England Revolution as an assistant coach.
Onstad played professionally for 25 years before briefly retiring and joining D.C. United as an assistant coach. Injuries created a hole in goal and the Canadian returned to action as a player-coach in 2011.
He returned to coaching in 2011 before joining Toronto FC as chief scout and manager of football partnerships for Toronto FC in January 2013.
"Pat is good teacher. As an assistant coach, he's going to be involved in multiple facets of our technical operations," said Berhalter. "Obviously with his extensive experience at the goalkeeper position he's going to work closely with our keepers and make sure they're ready for 2014. I know he's excited to work with our guys and they will benefit from his knowledge."
Onstad, a Vancouver native, earned 57 caps for Canada.
Maaskant played in Scotland and the Netherlands. He has coached most recently in Belarus but has also worked in the Net Most recently, Maaskant arrives from a coaching stint at Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk.
Soehn joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in January 2010 as director of soccer operations in advance of the team joining MLS in 2011.
Soehn took over as coach in May 2011 after Teitur Thordarson was let go during the inaugural MLS season. In 2012, he returned to his post of director of soccer operations before leaving in May that year by mutual consent.
"'I'm very excited to add Tom to our staff," Revolution head coach Jay Heaps said in a statement. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience in MLS – as a successful assistant coach, head coach and team executive – which will prove valuable to the Revolution. Tom was someone I very much respected as both a player and an opposing coach, and we're excited to get him working with the team and the staff this weekend."
Soehn has also served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Fire and D.C. United, where he was promoted to head coach in December 2006.