 Bono withToronto FC in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Nicholas Bono | ||
| Date of birth | (1994-04-25)April 25, 1994 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Syracuse, New York, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | New England Revolution | ||
| Number | 24 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2012 | Empire United | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | Syracuse Orange | 59 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2014 | Reading United | 18 | (0) |
| 2015–2022 | Toronto FC | 130 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | →Toronto FC II (loan) | 20 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | D.C. United | 39 | (0) |
| 2025– | New England Revolution | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2012 | United States U18 | 7 | (0) |
| 2018 | United States | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 28, 2018 | |||
Alexander Nicholas Bono (born April 25, 1994) is an American professionalsoccer player who plays as agoalkeeper forMajor League Soccer clubNew England Revolution.
Born and raised inBaldwinsville, New York, Bono attended high school atCharles W. Baker High School where he was a two-year starter for the Bees. During the later years of his high school career, Bono opted to commit full-time toU.S. Soccer Development Academy club Empire United. Prior to college, Bono was seen as the top goalkeeper recruit in the state of New York, and the 51st highest prospect of his graduating high school class.
JoiningSyracuse University, Bono became the immediate starter for theSyracuse Orange men's soccer program, starting in playing in 20 matches in freshman season, becoming the first true freshman goalkeeper to start a season opener sinceRobert Cavicchia in 2005. During his freshman year, Bono recorded a career-high eight saves during the2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament against theVCU Rams on November 18, 2012, and equalled that tally on November 25 against theGeorgetown Hoyas.[2] During his freshman season, Bono was voted to theBig East Conference All-Rookie Team and was named the Orange's Rookie of the Year.
In Bono's sophomore year, he maintained similar statistics as his freshman year and was named to theAtlantic Coast Conference Third Team.
It was his junior year where Bono emerged as a potential professional prospect, as he helped the Orange earn top national rankings, and earn a ninth overall seed in the2014 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. In the tournament, the Orange reached the fourth round before being eliminated by Georgetown.[3] Bono was also named a first-teamAll-American by theNSCAA in 2014.[4]
On January 15, 2015, Bono was selected 6th overall byToronto FC in the2015 MLS SuperDraft. He was considered to be the highest prospective goalkeeper in the draft class.[5][6]
Bono was loaned toToronto FC II on March 20, 2015.[7] He made his debut against theCharleston Battery on March 21.[8]
Due to an injury to regular starterClint Irwin in July 2016, Bono was selected to be the number one keeper for the first team by coachGreg Vanney;[9] he went on to make 16 MLS appearances for the club that year,[10] and also started in the second leg of the2016 Canadian Championship final againstVancouver Whitecaps FC on June 29, which Toronto won on away goals,[11] but Irwin later regained the starting spot for the remainder of theregular season and thePlayoffs,[10] as Toronto went on to reach the2016 MLS Cup Final, only to be defeated at home bySeattle Sounders FC 5–4 onpenalties, following a 0–0 draw afterextra time.[12]
The following season, however, after another injury to Irwin in the team's home opener in the spring, Bono was once again promoted to the starting line-up,[13] and subsequently cemented his place as the team's outright first-choice shot-stopper by September 2017, also establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the league: he broke the club's record for most clean sheets by a goalkeeper in a single season (10), and overall he kept the second highest number of clean sheets in the league season behindStefan Frei, and won more games than any other MLS goalkeeper that season (19), while he also surpassed Frei's mark for most career MLS wins by a Toronto FC goalkeeper; furthermore, he produced 72 saves and had a 69.2 percent save percentage, averaging 1.12 goals against per game. In thepost-season, Bono's performances once again proved to be decisive in his team's Playoff run, as he conceded two goals and made eight saves en route to the MLS Cup Final, keeping clean sheets in both legs of the Eastern Conference Final againstColumbus Crew.[10][14][15][16][17][18][19] On December 9, 2017, he kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win over Seattle Sounders in the2017 MLS Cup Final atBMO Field – a rematch of the previous season's final –, which saw Toronto complete an unprecedented treble of the MLS Cup, theSupporters' Shield, and theCanadian Championship.[20][21]
After the end of the2022 season, Bono left the club, upon the expiry of his contract.[22]
On December 14, 2022, Bono signed as a free-agent withD.C. United on a one-year deal.[23] D.C. United declined his contract option following their 2024 season.[24]
On January 9, 2015, Bono was called into a training camp for theUnited States national team.[25][26] He was called up again in March 2018.[27] He made his senior debut on May 28, 2018, in afriendly againstBolivia at theTalen Energy Stadium, keeping a clean-sheet in the eventual 3–0 win. Alex Bono was said to be a promising prospect and a potential big impact for U.S. Soccer in the years to come.[28][29]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National cup | Continental[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toronto FC II | 2015 | USL | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | ||
| Toronto FC | 2015 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 29 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 27 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | 3[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | 24 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | 24 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 130 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 157 | 0 | ||
| D.C. United | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 10 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 29 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 189 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 224 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Toronto FC[30]
