BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU Brooklyn head men's soccer coach TJ Kostecky has finalized his 2015 roster with the addition of Simen Hestnes, it was announced on Monday. Hestnes will begin his career with the Blackbirds in the fall.

"Simen is a top midfielder who beats other teams by his spacing, vision, and decision-making," Kostecky said. "Playing anywhere in the middle of the field, he controls the tempo of the game, giving his team the advantage. He is also a leader who instills tremendous confidence in his team with belief and discipline."

A native of Oslo, Norway, Hestnes played club soccer in the youth academy of First Division team Valerenga IF. A two-way central midfielder, he has played with both the U-19 and the U-21 squads. Hestnes has captained the U-19 team and regularly trains with the first team. In 2014, he was voted the top midfielder in Norway for the U-19 division and this past season against Division II competition, scored five goals and distributed five assists in his final seven matches.

Hestnes joins Christoffer Bjarre Solbakken (Oslo, Norway), Romario Guscott (Bronx, N.Y.), Rasmus Hansen (Copenhagen, Denmark), Michael Maldonado (New York, N.Y.), Chaney Nash-Gibney (Burlington, Vt.), Filip Nordstrom (Stockholm, Sweden) and Erik Wahlin (Stockholm, Sweden) as newcomers to LIU Brooklyn in 2015.