Teal Bunbury
Teal Bunbury in 2011 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Teal Alexander Bunbury | ||
Date of birth | February 27, 1990 | ||
Place of birth | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
Playing position | Forward, Winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | New England Revolution | ||
Number | 10 | ||
Youth career | |||
2006–2007 | Apple Valley Juventus | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2008–2009 | Akron Zips | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2009 | Rochester Thunder | 11 | (5) |
2010–2013 | Sporting Kansas City | 88 | (19) |
2014– | New England Revolution | 88 | (10) |
National team‡ | |||
2007 | Canada U17 | 1 | (0) |
2008–2009 | Canada U20 | 2 | (1) |
2012 | United States U23 | 3 | (0) |
2010–2012 | United States | 4 | (1) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:50, 26 October 2016 (UTC). |
Teal Alexander Bunbury (born February 27, 1990) is a Canadian-American soccer player who currently plays for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.
Career
College and amateur
Bunbury was born in Hamilton, Ontario to an American mother of Polish and Swedish descent, Kristi, and Alex Bunbury, a Guyanese-born, Canadian professional soccer player who is the eighth most capped player for the Canadian men's soccer team. At the age of two, he left Canada to travel with his family, at first to England, where the elder Bunbury played briefly, and then to Portugal. When he was 10 years old.[1] he moved to the United States with his family and has lived there since. He grew up in Prior Lake, Minnesota and attended Shattuck-St. Mary's High School.
Bunbury's first club was Apple Valley Juventus,[2] followed by college soccer at the University of Akron. He made a total of 35 starts and appeared in 48 games with the Zips during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. In his first season, he made 23 appearances, starting ten games and scoring six goals, a total second only to future SuperDraft pick Steve Zakuani, who lead the NCAA in scoring with 20.[3]
After Steve Zakuani was selected first overall in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Bunbury began to shine for Akron. As a sophomore, he started all 25 games for the Zips, including the 2009 Division I Men's College Cup final.[4] Bunbury led the team and the nation in goals, scoring 17 during the year, led the team in shots (103) and tied with fellow forward, Darlington Nagbe, in game-winning goals (5). Bunbury earned many accolades during the 2009 season, including the Mid-American Conference's Player of the Week award three times and same award by College Soccer News, once. He was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's national Team of the Week during the season. At the end of the season he was named as the winner of the 2009 Hermann Trophy Award, honouring the best player in college soccer.
During his college years Bunbury also played with the Rochester Thunder in the USL Premier Development League[5] and the Chicago Fire Premier in the USL Super-20 League.
Professional
After two years with the Zips, Bunbury decided to forgo the remainder of his collegiate career and signed with Generation adidas.[6] He was drafted in the first round (4th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Kansas City Wizards.[7]
He made his professional debut on March 27 in Kansas City's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against D.C. United,[8] and scored his first professional goal on April 13 in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game against the Colorado Rapids. He was handed a start on his first game in Canada versus Toronto FC and was subbed off in the 58th minute. He scored his first MLS goal in a 1–0 victory over Columbus Crew on July 14.
In December 2010, Bunbury joined English Premier League side Stoke City on trial and scored in a reserve match against Wigan Athletic.[9]
In August 2012, he suffered a torn ACL during a match against New York Red Bulls, which kept him off the field for 10 months.[10]
In February 2014, Bunbury was traded to the New England Revolution for a first round 2015 MLS SuperDraft pick and allocation money.[11]
International career
Bunbury has played for the Canadian national U-17 and U-20 teams. Though he had said he would play for Canada and it would feel "wrong" to play for the US,[1] he was called up to the full US team as part of the squad to face South Africa.[12] Bunbury earned his first cap for the United States on November 17, 2010, coming on as a substitute at halftime in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup. He scored his first international goal against Chile from a penalty kick, in an exhibition match in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Teal is the son of Alex Bunbury, a former striker who is the third highest scorer and is fifth in caps won all-time for the Canadian men's soccer team. He also finished his career as one of C.S. Marítimo's all-time top goal scorers.[13] Teal is the first son of a former MLS player to be drafted into the league.[14] His sister, Kylie Bunbury, is an actress currently starring in Fox's Pitch. Bunbury also has a younger brother named Logan who is an aspiring rapper.
Honors
- Mid-American Conference Player of the Year: 2009[15]
- Goal.com Player of the Year: 2009[16]
- Hermann Trophy Winner: 2010[17]
- NSCAA All-American: 2009[18]
- Soccer America Player of the Year: 2009[19]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Teal Bunbury proud to follow in dad's footsteps". CBC News. 2010-01-26.
- ↑ Football Canada
- ↑ "AKRON - Cumulative Season Statistics (2008)". Akron Media Relations. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ "AKRON - Cumulative Season Statistics (2009)". Akron Media Relations. 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ 2009 Rochester Thunder squad
- ↑ CANADIAN BUNBURY PICKED 4TH OVERALL IN MLS SUPERDRAFT
- ↑ 2010 MLS SuperDraft
- ↑ "Teal Bunbury First Game". CBC News.
- ↑ "Trialist On Target In Reserves Defeat". stokecityfc.com. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ↑ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/08/27/sporting-kcs-bunbury-done-season-torn-acl
- ↑ Austin, Kurt. "Teal Bunbury traded to New England. Despite being a striker in college, Teal is used more behind the main striker and is evolving into a playmaker.Revolution". Sportingkc.com. Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ↑
- ↑ Akron sophomore striker Teal Bunbury comes from a soccer family
- ↑ Teal Bunbury proud to follow in dad's footsteps
- ↑ "MAC Announces Men's Soccer Postseason Awards" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ Eskilson, J.R. (2009-12-03). "College Soccer Professor: End Of The Season Awards". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ "Akpan, Bone and Bunbury are Men's 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy Finalists" (Press release). NSCAA. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ "Akpan Earns Third Division I All-America Honor" (Press release). NSCAA. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ↑ Kennedy, Paul (2009-12-18), "Akron's Bunbury is Men's Player of the Year", Soccer America, retrieved 2009-12-23
External links
- MLS player profile
- Akron bio
- Official Twitter
- Teal Bunbury at National-Football-Teams.com