Adegboyega "Bo" Oshoniyi (born November 3, 1971) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who spent eight seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He is now the head men's soccer coach at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Career

Oshoniyi's Nigerian father drowned when Bo was four years old. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

, where he helped lead the team to Division II championships in 1990 and 1992. He finished his career at the school with a record of 67 wins, 8 losses, and 7 ties.

Professional

Columbus Crew

Upon the creation of MLS, Oshoniyi was selected in the fifth round of the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United State ...

by the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. Oshoniyi had a notable assist in the first ever Crew home game on a long punt that found

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For mu ...

. Oshoniyi posted a 3-10 record. He started 13 games with the Crew, but was beaten out for the job by

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country at ...

, who was acquired in mid-season. Oshoniyi was released by the Crew after 1996 along with 3rd string keeper Pat Harrington.

A-League / USL

In 1997 he played the next year with the

Connecticut Wolves The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Socc ...

of the First Division. He moved to the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in 1998, and the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in 1999.

New England Revolution

Oshoniyi returned to MLS in 2000, when he was selected 39th overall in the

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the le ...

by the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. He was traded by New England halfway through the preseason to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

for allocation money. He appeared in 1 preseason game for the Revolution, shutting out the

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

Kansas City Wizards

Oshoniyi played one game with the

, shutting out the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

while Meola was away with the National Team. It was Oshoniyi's first league game in 3 years. He was part of their

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

-winning squad. An injury scare to Meola almost called Oshoniyi into duty early on in the 2000 season against the

. In 2001 Oshoniyi was called into action for 11 games while

Tony Meola Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he p ...

was out injured posting a 4-5-1 record. He recorded 1 assist during the season. In 2002 while Meola was away with the National Team he again appeared in 13 games posting a 3-5-4 record on the year. 2003, he only appeared in 13 minutes of game action on the season when Meola picked up an injury. 2004 posted a career high 5-2-2 record after taking the starting job away from

toward the end of the season, and was named the starting goalkeeper for the

playoffs. He posted 5 shutouts in the final 9 games of the season going into the playoffs, recorded an assist in the final game of the season as well. He posted a 2-2 record in the playoffs, and was named the MLS Cup starting goalkeeper in a losing effort to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Oshoniyi was named the starting goalkeeper going into the 2005 season, posting a career high 32 games, and an 11-9-12 record. He posted a career high in shutouts with 7, and finished 3rd in 2005 all star voting behind

Pat Onstad Patrick Stewart Onstad (born January 13, 1968) is a Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper who serves as the General Manager of the Houston Dynamo. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United State ...

and

Matt Reis Matt Reis ( ; born March 28, 1975) is an American former soccer player and coach who played as a goalkeeper. A long-time Major League Soccer mainstay, he has served as goalkeeper coach for LA Galaxy and the United States. Youth and college R ...

. In 2006 he had a 9-12-8 record. He enjoyed much success with the Wizards, posting a career total 36-43-27 record and 24 shutouts. Oshoniyi wasn't retained after the 2006 season when new head coach

Curt Onalfo Curt Onalfo (born November 19, 1969) is an American former soccer player and coach who currently serves as technical director of Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. As a player, he played two seasons in France, two in the USISL, ...

took over replacing him with

Kevin Hartman Kevin Eugene Hartman (born May 25, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played 17 seasons in Major League Soccer, being on the field for a record 37,260 minutes. Nicknamed ''El Gato'' (Spanish for "the cat") because of his agility, re ...

. Oshoniyi was offered a trial with the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

and

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

but declined the invitation electing to retire and move into the coaching full time.

Career statistics

As of August 22, 2006

Coaching record

References

External links

Bo Oshoniyi's profile on MLSNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshoniyi, Bo 1971 births Living people Association football goalkeepers New York Centaurs players Connecticut Wolves players Charleston Battery players Atlanta Silverbacks players Columbus Crew players Sporting Kansas City players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Southern Connecticut Fighting Owls men's soccer players African-American soccer players Major League Soccer players USL Second Division players A-League (1995–2004) players New England Revolution draft picks East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's soccer coaches Soccer players from Boston American soccer players American soccer coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Dartmouth Big Green men's soccer coaches