Tristan Bowen (born January 30, 1991) is an American professional soccer player. Bowen was the first ever homegrown player in MLS history.

Career

Youth

Bowen, who was

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

, forwent college although he was offered a scholarship to UCLA, and joined LA Galaxy's youth academy, ''Galaxy Rios'', on March 15, 2007. Bowen played for Galaxy Rios at the 2008 SUM U-17 Cup, and later helped the team win the Pacific Southern California Division of the USL Super-20 League.

Professional

Bowen played several games with Galaxy's reserves in the

MLS Reserve Division The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chiva ...

towards the end of the 2008 season, and was formally signed by the senior LA Galaxy team on November 12, 2008, making him the first player in MLS history to be signed directly from his club's Youth Academy. He played during Galaxy's pre-season tour of Oceania in February 2009, and made his professional debut on April 7, 2009, in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

against

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, lat ...

. He made his MLS debut on June 20, 2009, in a game against San Jose Earthquakes. With the

having been scrapped at the end of 2008, Galaxy also loaned Bowen to the

Hollywood United Hitmen Hollywood United Hitmen was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles. The team was founded in 2009 and played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and the USL Premier Development League (PDL). The team played its home games in Cougar ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

and to

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

for part of the 2009 season, to maintain his match fitness levels. Bowen was traded to city rivals

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

on December 15, 2010 in exchange for allocation money and a split of any future foreign transfer fee received for the player. On August 26, 2011, Chivas USA announced that Bowen had been loaned out to K.S.V. Roeselare of the Belgian Second Division. Bowen returned from his loan stint on May 17, 2012. Bowen was traded to Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who last played in Alumni de Villa María, Alumni. A Midfielder#Winger, winger/Forward (association football), forward best known for his pace ...

on December 11, 2013. The Sounders and Bowen part ways at the conclusion of the 2014 season. In December 2014, Bowen entered the 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft and was selected in stage two by

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 compe ...

. He did not agree to terms with New England. In August 2015, Bowen signed with

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura (or KuPS) is a Finnish football club, based in the ninth most populated city of Finland, Kuopio. KuPS plays in Finland's Premier League, Veikkausliiga. KuPS has won the Finnish championship six times, the Finnish Cup 4 time ...

in the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikka ...

. In February 2016, Bowen signed with AFC United in Sweden. He helped the club win promotion to Allesvenska, Sweden's first division. In January 2020, Bowen came out of a three-year retirement and signed with

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

ahead of the team's spring season in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

International

Bowen has played for the United States U-18 and U-20 national teams, including three games in November 2008, during which he played friendly games against Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

teams Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid and

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Li ...

. He is eligible to represent Jamaica through parentage.

Honors

LA Galaxy * Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (1): 2010 Seattle Sounders FC * U.S. Open Cup Champion (1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield (1):

AFC Eskilstuna *Promotion to Allsvenskan (2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Tristan 1991 births Living people American expatriate soccer players American soccer players Association football forwards Challenger Pro League players Chivas USA players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Finland Hollywood United Hitmen players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players Miami FC (2006) players K.S.V. Roeselare players Kuopion Palloseura players San Fernando Valley Quakes players Seattle Sounders FC players Oakland Roots SC players Soccer players from Los Angeles United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players USL First Division players USL League Two players Veikkausliiga players American expatriate sportspeople in Belgium American expatriate sportspeople in Finland American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden Homegrown Players (MLS)