The six-foot-three Syracuse goalkeeper has been ignored by U.S. nationwide groups lately, however his outrageously good 2014 season was exhausting to overlook. He shall be a part of this 12 months’s MLS SuperDraft.
BY
Brooke Tunstall
Posted
January 07, 2015
9:23 PM
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ALEX BONO IS FINALLY GETTING acknowledged for being one of many high goalkeepers in school soccer, and shall be getting paid because of this.
Lengthy ignored by the USA youth nationwide groups regardless of a standout profession at Syracuse that has seen him lead the Orange to nationwide prominence, Bono has agreed to phrases with Main League Soccer on a Technology Adidas deal and can depart college a 12 months early.
Bono—pronounced like Sonny, not U2’s bike-riding lead singer—turns into the fourth participant to conform to a Technology Adidas deal this 12 months, becoming a member of Connecticut ahead Cyle Larin, Washington midfielder Cristian Roldan, and Central Florida ahead Romario Williams.
At six-foot-three, Bono has a prototypical goalkeeper’s construct and the cat-like reflexes to go together with them. He got here to Syracuse from close by Baldwinsville, N.Y., and regardless of taking part in a place the place freshmen not often play, not to mention dominate, he made a direct influence.
He posted a 0.85 goals-against-average and was named the highest freshman goalkeeper within the nation by High Drawer Soccer and Soccer America whereas main Syracuse to the candy 16 of the NCAA Event, one of the best end in program historical past. Regardless of his sturdy displaying, the calls from the youth nationwide groups by no means got here as U.S. U-20 nationwide workforce head coach Tab Ramos and goalkeeping coach Russell Payne opted to check out the likes of Penn State’s Andrew Wolverton, Northwestern’s Tyler Miller, and Santa Clara’s Kendall McIntosh as an alternative.
Bono’s sophomore season Syracuse jumped to the Atlantic Coast Convention, probably the most aggressive convention in school soccer. Whereas the workforce labored to a 10-7-1 report, Bono was named third-team all-ACC after a 1.03 objectives in opposition to common. Regardless of being probably the greatest goalkeepers in one of the best convention in school soccer in 2013, no calls got here final summer season when the U.S. U-23 nationwide workforce gathered for a pair of camps.
This fall, Bono made that look doubtful with one of many extra dominant seasons from a goalkeeper in current school soccer historical past. He allowed only one purpose the primary 10 video games of the season and completed the 12 months with a 0.55 goals-against-average and .848 save share, each among the many tops in school soccer, and led the Orange again to the Candy 16. He was named the ACC’s defensive participant of the 12 months, a consensus first-team All-American by a number of shops, and is a finalist for the Hermann trophy. If he wins the Hermann, given to the highest participant in school soccer, he could be simply the third goalkeeper to take action, becoming a member of iconic U.S. goalkeepers Tony Meola and Brad Friedel.
Throughout Bono’s senior 12 months of highschool, his youth membership, Empire United, signed an affiliation settlement with the New England Revolution and have become Empire Revolution and thru this settlement Bono was capable of prepare with the membership nonetheless the affiliation occurred too late for the Revolution to have a homegrown declare on Bono.
“No, we don’t have a claim on him because the affiliation didn’t happen in time,” Revolution basic supervisor Michael Burns advised ASN earlier than MLS Cup. “He’s come and trained with us and showed well and we’d like to have him but we don’t have a claim.”
Thus Bono will enter into subsequent week’s draft as the highest goalkeeping prospect. Whereas no groups have a obvious want for a beginning goalkeeper, sources near Bono mentioned that as a lot because the phrases of a contract supply from MLS, he was looking for assurances that there have been golf equipment excited about drafting and growing him earlier than he agreed to phrases.
He apparently acquired these assurances. Additionally: New England, Montreal, Seattle, and Portland are, in accordance a supply, very excessive on Bono, who will now be in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for MLS’ annual scouting mix, which begins Friday, although Bono is not count on till after Friday’s Hermann ceremony. ASN shall be overlaying the mix and shall be posting updates starting Thursday night.
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Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You may observe him on Twitter.
