Teal Alexander Bunbury (born February 27, 1990) is a professional

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 ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

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 ...

. Born in Canada, he represented the United States national team.

Early life

Bunbury was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

to Kristi Novak, an American of Polish and Swedish descent, and

Alex Bunbury Alexander Bunbury (born 18 June 1967) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a striker. He played mainly for Marítimo in Portugal during a 13-year professional career, and represented the Canadian national team during ...

, 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 Kylie Bunbury (born January 30, 1989) is a Canadian-American actress. Life Bunbury was born in Montreal, Canada, to Kristi Novak and Alex Bunbury, a soccer player. Her father is Guyanese-Canadian. She spent her childhood in England (for two yea ...

, 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, he moved to the United States with his family and has lived there since. He grew up in

Prior Lake, Minnesota Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area kn ...

and attended Shattuck-St. Mary's High School.

Club career

College and amateur

Bunbury's first club was Apple Valley Juventus, followed by

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 ...

at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

. 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 Steve Zakuani (born 9 February 1988) is a Congolese former footballer. He was born in Zaire—now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—and grew up in London. After a successful college career, he played for the Seattle Sounders FC and the Port ...

, who led the NCAA in scoring with 20. After

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 The 2009 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer . The semifinals and final were held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. All the other g ...

final. 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 The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

'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 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 syste ...

and the

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. The ...

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 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

. He was drafted in the first round (4th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by

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 ...

. He made his professional debut on March 27 in Kansas City's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against

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 ...

, and scored his first professional goal on April 13 in a

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 ...

game against 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 ...

. He was handed a start on his first game in Canada versus

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

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 The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

on trial and scored in a reserve match against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. In August 2012, he suffered a torn ACL during a match against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, which kept him off the field for 10 months. In February 2014, Bunbury was traded to 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 ...

for a first round

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

pick and allocation money. 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 The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. New England fell to

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

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 New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

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 Juan Sebastián Agudelo (born November 23, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for USL Championship club Birmingham Legion. After moving from Colombia to New Jersey at an early age Agudelo began his career ...

's second goal in the final, but the Revs eventually fell to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

4-2. In 2018, Bunbury tallied 11 goals for the Revs, reaching double-digit league goals in one season for the first time in his career. 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. On December 12, 2021, Bunbury was traded to

for up to $150,000 in allocation money.

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, he was called up to the full US team as part of the squad to face South Africa. 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

, 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 Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

's all-time top goal scorers. Bunbury is the first son of a former MLS player to be drafted into the league. In 2015, he married Kaity Maurer, with whom he has two daughters.

Career statistics

International

Honors

New England Revolution * Supporters' Shield:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual *

Player of the Year: 2009 * Goal.com Player of the Year: 2009 *

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

Winner: 2010 *

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

All-American: 2009 *

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the US, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History and profile The magazine was founded by Clay Be ...

Player of the Year: 2009 *

Golden Boot Winner: 2020 *

Humanitarian of the Year: 2020

References

External links

* *
Akron bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bunbury, Teal 1990 births Living people Association football forwards Association football wingers Canadian soccer players American soccer players African-American soccer players Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian sportspeople of Guyanese descent Canadian people of Polish descent Canadian people of Swedish descent American sportspeople of Guyanese descent American people of Polish descent American people of Swedish descent Akron Zips men's soccer players Rochester Thunder players Sporting Kansas City players New England Revolution players Nashville SC players Soccer players from Hamilton, Ontario People from Scott County, Minnesota Soccer players from Minnesota Sporting Kansas City draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Hermann Trophy men's winners All-American men's college soccer players 21st-century African-American sportspeople