Teal Bunbury

Teal Alexander Bunbury (born February 27, 1990) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. Born in Canada, he represented the United States national team.

Teal Bunbury
Bunbury with Nashville SC in 2023
Personal information
Full name Teal Alexander Bunbury
Date of birth (1990-02-27) February 27, 1990
Place of birth Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Nashville SC
Number 12
Youth career
2006–2007 Valley United Juventus
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 Akron Zips 48 (23)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 Rochester Thunder 11 (5)
2010–2013 Sporting Kansas City 89 (19)
2014–2021 New England Revolution 231 (45)
2022– Nashville SC 27 (6)
International career‡
2007 Canada U17 1 (0)
2008–2009 Canada U20 2 (1)
2012 United States U23 3 (0)
2010–2012 United States 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 29, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 25, 2014

Early life

Bunbury was born in Hamilton, Ontario to Kristi Novak, an American of Polish and Swedish descent,[2] and Alex Bunbury, a Guyanese-born, Canadian professional soccer player who is the eighth most capped player for the Canadian men's soccer team. He has an older sister, actress Kylie Bunbury, and two younger brothers, Logan and Mataeo, the latter of whom is also a professional soccer player.

At the age of two, he left Canada to travel with his family, at first to England, where his father played briefly, and then to Portugal. When he was 10 years old,[3] 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.

Club career

College and amateur

Bunbury's first club was Apple Valley Juventus,[4] 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 led the NCAA in scoring with 20.[5]

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.[6] 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, honoring the best player in college soccer.

During his college years Bunbury also played with the Rochester Thunder in the USL Premier Development League[7] 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.[8] He was drafted in the first round (4th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Kansas City Wizards.[9]

He made his professional debut on March 27 in Kansas City's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against D.C. United,[10] 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.[11]

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.[12]

In February 2014, Bunbury was traded to the New England Revolution for a first round 2015 MLS SuperDraft pick and allocation money.[13] Bunbury became a major contributor to New England's run to the 2014 MLS Cup Final, scoring from long distance in the Eastern Conference final against Red Bull New York.[14] New England fell to LA Galaxy 2-1 final after extra time, with Bunbury's potential game-winning shot bouncing off the crossbar in the 85th minute.

Bunbury helped lead the Revs to the 2016 U.S. Open Cup Final, scoring twice against the New York Cosmos in the Round of 16 and adding the third goal in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire in the semifinals. Bunbury assisted on Juan Agudelo's second goal in the final, but the Revs eventually fell to FC Dallas 4-2.[15]

In 2018, Bunbury tallied 11 goals for the Revs, reaching double-digit league goals in one season for the first time in his career.[16]

Bunbury was New England's leading scorer during the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLS Season. He was also named the club's Humanitarian of the Year.[17]

On December 12, 2021, Bunbury was traded to Nashville SC for up to $150,000 in allocation money.[18]

International career

Bunbury 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,[3] he was called up to the full US team as part of the squad to face South Africa.[19] 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

Bunbury is the son of Alex Bunbury, a former striker who is joint-seventh highest scorer and is eighth 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.[20] Bunbury is the first son of a former MLS player to be drafted into the league.[21]

In 2015, he married Kaity Maurer,[22] with whom he has two daughters.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played December 6, 2020[24]
Club statistics
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting Kansas City 2010 Major League Soccer 26500——265
2011 29921—3[lower-alpha 1]23412
2012 22541—00266
2013 120102[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 1]0170
Total 891972205210323
New England Revolution 2014 Major League Soccer 31410—5[lower-alpha 1]2376
2015 30400—1[lower-alpha 1]0314
2016 27233——305
2017 28731——318
2018 321100——3211
2019 32622—1[lower-alpha 1]0358
2020 22 8 — — 4[lower-alpha 1] 0 26 8
Total 20242960011222250
Career totals 291611682016432573
  1. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  2. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League

International
As of match played January 25, 2012[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 201010
201111
201220
Total41
As of goal scored on 22 january 2011
List of international goals scored by Bunbury
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 22 January 2011 Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, U.S  Chile 1–1 1–1 Friendly [26]

Honors

New England Revolution

Individual

References
  1. "Teal Bunbury". Nashville SC. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. "Kylie Bunbury Details New Disney Starring Role "PROM" And... Is Jason Flirting With The Guyanese Banger? » 24Wired.TV". 2014-02-22. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  3. "Teal Bunbury proud to follow in dad's footsteps". CBC News. 2010-01-26.
  4. "Canada's U-17 team arrives in México before Copa Chivas". Canadian Soccer Association. January 28, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05.
  5. "AKRON - Cumulative Season Statistics (2008)". Akron Media Relations. 2009-03-13. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  6. "AKRON - Cumulative Season Statistics (2009)". Akron Media Relations. 2009-12-13. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  7. "2009 Rochester Thunder squad". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10.
  8. "CANADIAN BUNBURY PICKED 4TH OVERALL IN MLS SUPERDRAFT". TSN.
  9. "2010 MLS SuperDraft".
  10. "Teal Bunbury First Game". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21.
  11. "Trialist On Target In Reserves Defeat". stokecityfc.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  12. "Sporting KC's Bunbury done for season with torn ACL". 27 August 2012.
  13. 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. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  14. "HIGHLIGHTS: New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution". YouTube. November 23, 2014.
  15. "2016 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup schedule, results". US Open Cup. 7 April 2016.
  16. "Teal Bunbury". Major League Soccer.
  17. "New England Revolution announce 2020 team awards". New England Revolution.
  18. "Nashville Soccer Club Acquires MLS Veteran Attacker Teal Bunbury from the New England Revolution". Nashville SC. December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  19. "Bradley Names 18-Man Roster to Face South Africa on Nov. 17 in Cape Town - U.S. Soccer". Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
  20. "Akron sophomore striker Teal Bunbury comes from a soccer family". 4 December 2009.
  21. "Teal Bunbury proud to follhtow in dad's footsteps".
  22. "Kaity Maurer Archives". MIKE + JULIE | storytellers. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  23. mlssoccer. "Teal Bunbury balances family, soccer at MLS is Back Tournament: "It's what you make of it" | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  24. Teal Bunbury at Soccerway
  25. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Teal Bunbury". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  26. "United States vs. Chile - Football Match Summary". ESPN. January 22, 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  27. "MAC Announces Men's Soccer Postseason Awards" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. 2009-11-13. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  28. Eskilson, J.R. (2009-12-03). "College Soccer Professor: End Of The Season Awards". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  29. "Akpan, Bone and Bunbury are Men's 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy Finalists" (Press release). NSCAA. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  30. "Akpan Earns Third Division I All-America Honor" (Press release). NSCAA. 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
  31. Kennedy, Paul (2009-12-18), "Akron's Bunbury is Men's Player of the Year", Soccer America, archived from the original on 2013-02-02, retrieved 2009-12-23
  32. "New England Revolution announce 2020 team awards". New England Revolution.
  33. "New England Revolution announce 2020 team awards". New England Revolution.
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