Former Syracuse players have had a big impact across the soccer world this year.
European leagues have all concluded their campaigns, the MLS season has begun to ramp up, and international tournaments like the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup have all begun, making now a better time than ever to check on how some of our Syracuse Orange have been doing in soccer leagues across the world.
Alex Bono | 2012-14 | New England Revolution (MLS) | GK
Kris Craig/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Since our last update, Alex Bono found himself on the move once again, leaving DC United in free agency to join the New England Revolution. In New England, Bono has found himself drop to become the second-choice keeper, only finding playing time this season in the Revolution’s 2 US Open Cup games. In these games, he made two saves and gave up three goals, a save percentage of 40%. He has one year left on his current contract with the club. It seems unlikely that Bono will take the starting position anytime soon, however, as New England’s first-choice goalkeeper, Aljaz Ivacic, ranks within the top five in the MLS in both save percentage and clean sheets.
Miles Robinson | 2015-16 | FC Cincinnati (MLS) | CB
Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images
Miles Robinson has been an extremely crucial part of an FC Cincinnati defense that ranks in the top 8 for fewest shots against and has collected 6 clean sheets on the year. He has started every game this year for the club, except for the ones he has missed due to injury or international duty. Speaking of international duty, Robinson has recently been selected once again for the USMNT to participate in the Gold Cup. However, he did not start for The Stars and Stripes in their dominant 5-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago, instead coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute and playing out the final few minutes of the game. While international duty hasn’t seen him play as big a role as usual, he’s still crucial to an FC Cincinnati team that is currently placed second in the MLS Eastern Conference. We’ll see if he can help them keep up this momentum and potentially win his second MLS Cup.
Kamal Miller | 2015-18 | Portland Timbers (MLS) | CB
Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Kamal Miller has been a rock-solid starter in Portland, starting 14 games for them this season, for a defense ranking around the middle of the pack in most statistics. This solid defense goes along with Portland’s hot start in the MLS, jumping from a 9th-place Western Conference finish last year to see themselves sitting in 4th place. Similar to Robinson, Miller’s defensive prowess has caught the attention of Canadian National Team coach Jesse Marsch, who has included him in his squad for the Gold Cup. In Canada’s opening match against Honduras, Miller played a little over half an hour in a 6-0 rout by the Canadians.
Sergio Camargo | 2016 | Cavalry FC (CPL) | CAM
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After a short stint as a homegrown player for Toronto FC, Sergio Camargo moved to the newly formed Canadian Premier League in 2019, its inaugural season. He’s played for Cavalry FC ever since, who have been extremely successful. Last year, they won the North Star Cup, which is the CFL Championship trophy. Sergio seems to have carved out a role for himself on this team, as he has started all 10 games they have played this season. In those 10 games, he has tallied four goals and two assists. His contract does end at the end of this season; however, it does not seem like Cavalry shows any signs of letting him go.
Deandre Kerr | 2020-21 | Toronto FC (MLS) | ST
John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
After playing in 26 games last year for Toronto FC, Deandre Kerr was seemingly poised to play a huge role in Toronto FC’s season this year, and he started well, playing in five of Toronto FC’s first six games. In these games, he scored twice with no assists. However, after the game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Kerr would suffer an ankle injury that would derail his promising season. This was a big blow to an already struggling Toronto FC team, who have only three wins in 17 matches. He has recently returned to training and is expected to return in a few weeks. Hopefully, a return for Kerr could lead to a turnaround in Toronto FC’s season.
Ryan Raposo | 2018-19 | Los Angeles FC (MLS) | CM
Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Since our last update, Ryan Raposo has found himself on the move from Vancouver to LAFC. However, it has been hard for Raposo to find consistent playing time in LA. This season, he has only played once, coming on as a sub and playing out the final 10 minutes or so in LAFC’s 3-1 win over Sporting KC. While LAFC is currently playing out its Club World Cup campaign, Raposo has not been able to see the pitch in these games as well. It does seem like in recent weeks, Raposo has found himself in the squad more often than not, so we will continue to wait and see how LAFC plans to use Raposo in the future.
Tajon Buchanan | 2017-18 | Villarreal (La Liga) | RW/LW
Simon Fearn-Imagn Images
After returning from his fractured tibia that he suffered last summer, Tajon Buchanan still found playing time at Inter Milan hard to come by. He only played in smaller cup matches, and still found himself on the bench more often than not. Therefore, during the January transfer window, the club sent Buchanan off to Spain to play for Villarreal. He would slowly begin to regain his form with the squad, playing more and more, although mostly still as a substitute. This increase of form would come to its climax during the second-to-last game of the La Liga season, where Buchanan would play Spanish champions Barcelona. In the 80th minute, game tied at 2-2, Buchanan would receive the ball and fire a beautiful shot into the top center of the goal, winning the game for Villareal and securing them a spot in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2009. This form would lead to more positive play for Canada as well, as he scored twice in their 6-0 opening win against Honduras in the Gold Cup. Talking about his time with Villarreal with Yahoo Sports, Buchanan said, “I feel like I used to. I’m getting back to being the old me.” Hopefully, he can get back to playing at the top of his game and get back to the player that we know he can be.
Nathan Opoku | 2022 | Leicester City FC (EPL) | ST
Photo by Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images
Opoku’s case has been an interesting one. Since coming back from Belgium on loan, he suffered a horrific injury, which saw him on the sidelines for most of Leicester’s U21 team’s season. When he came back, he started the last three games, although he did not tally any goals or assists. Where it seems like Opoku has made his mark is in the Baller League, a six-on-six soccer tournament backed by influencers and celebrities. There, playing for Trebol FC, he played in nine games and scored twice, and seemingly has made a decent impact for the club. There are still a lot of questions surrounding Opoku, and it will be interesting to see where his career goes from here.
Nate Edwards | 2023 | Toronto FC | RWB
Photo by Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Since our last update, Edwards has been bouncing between Toronto FC and Toronto FC II, not being able to find much playing time for the MLS side. He has recently been sent down to Toronto FC II and he is continuing to impress in the MLS Next. Unfortunately, during his time with Toronto FC so far, he has not been able to find any playing time in an MLS match. He is still young, and hopefully, he’ll get his shot at the top level sometime soon.
Gabriel Mikina | 2023 | St. Louis City FC (MLS Next) | CB
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Mikina has proven himself as one of the top prospects currently playing for St. Louis City. He has been an anchor at the center of City’s defense, for a side that currently sees itself second in the MLS Next Western Conference. He has played all 13 games for the club and started 12 of them. He also ranks second on the team in clearances and third on the team for minutes played. Even though Mikina is still playing down with St. Louis’s B team, with their faltering form early in the season, I would not be shocked to see him come up and play some first-team minutes soon.
As the MLS season continues, and important competitions like the Gold Cup play out, you can catch all your Syracuse men’s soccer news here at Nunes Magician.