Hot on the heels of some serious corruption charges and the much needed takedown of FIFA, here's an update on our friendly neighborhood Orange taking on the ranks of professional soccer in their own right.
USL:
Close to home we have a few folks playing up in the great north of Toronto. Standouts from last year, Alex Bono and Skylar Thomas are playing with Toronto FC II, the USL side.
Thomas was good enough last week to earn USL Team of the Week honors for his work. Thomas anchored a defense that held the Rochester Rhinos to a 0-0 draw on the weekend.
Bono is playing well and per the Daily Orange will be making his first team debut tonight with TFC when they take on Manchester City FC at 7pm on ESPN2. Tune in to catch his top flight debut.
Nick Bibbs, the 2013 graduate, is playing currently with St. Louis FC of the USL. He's played in four matches this year, none since April 25.
MLS:
Patrice Bernier, who played two years for the Orange back in 1998 and 1999 is still captaining the Montreal Impact in MLS. He's been consistently a rock in the midfield for the Impact since 2012, captaining the side. He's played in only 5 of the matches in the current campaign, but was part of the side that came into second in the CONCACAF Champions League.
International:
Emil Ekblom, the forward playing with the squad last year that left to sign with Staebek in the Tippeligaen is seeing some time. He's gotten six appearances with the side as well as a single cup appearance. He's netted his only goal of the season so far in that Cup match.
Any others playing professionally that you folks know about, let me know. It's pretty tough to track the international folks at anything lower than top tier.