Syracuse men’s soccer: MLS Opening Weekend

At this point anyone who follows the Syracuse Orange men’s soccer team knows that Coach Ian McIntyre and crew have been placing MLS Superdraft picks in the first round and beyond for getting close to a decade running now. With so many picks, that also leads to a good number of Orange in the league. Since we’ve reached the opening weekend of Major League Soccer, it’s time to give a bit of a recap and look into where you’re seeing these former Syracuse athletes.

Miles Robinson, CB, Atlanta United

I somehow slacked on reporting the news, but Miles was capped in the January camp for the US Men’s National Team, and scored his first international goal. This also may qualify as the first Syracuse player to ever score in a USA kit. Miles held the line as a covering defender and looked the part in Atlanta’s 0-0 draw against Orlando City. At this point he’s pretty well a penned in starter and has been garnering some European interest. His performance was good enough to be named to the MLS Team of the Week.

Mo Adams, CDM, Atlanta United

Mo starts the season after recovering from offseason sports hernia surgery outside of the 18 for Atlanta. As the season progresses, I’m sure we’ll see more of the defensive midfielder.

Alex Bono, GK, Toronto FC

Bono lead the TFC charge into the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals against Cruz Azul by putting in a shift in their two legs against Club Leon. He also had some off the ball shenanigans that you can google if you want, which were pure CONCACAF-ery, and worth a chuckle. He also opened the season against Kamal Miller and CF Montreal this Saturday. Unfortunately for Bono, the artists formerly known as the Impact ran past TFC 4-2, breaking the press, hitting hard up the flanks and leaving Bono with not much hope of helping.

Kamal Miller, CB/FB, CF Montreal

On his debut with CF Montreal, Kamal got the nod at left centerback with new head coach Wilfried Nancy trotting out three at the back. He went the full 90 in the aforementioned 4-2 win and looked fine doing what he needed to do back there from all accounts.

Ryan Raposo, FW, Vancouver Whitecaps

Ryan made the 18 for the Whitecaps, in their 1-0 win over the rival Portland Timbers. He also saw his first action of the year, getting a sub appearance... in the 93rd minute. While he was brought in as Mr. Irrelevant on the day, the fact that he’s one of the names being called in the 18 is something to look forward to for the attacker.

Tajon Buchanan, FW, New England Revolution

Bruce Arena 4-4-2’s apparently slotting Tajon Buchanan in a wide midfield role, hugging the touchline or cutting in when he needs to. That’s where he ended up for the Revolution, starting at left midfield. Unfortunately, he didn’t look great on the left, but made up for it in leaps and bounds when he and Carles Gil swapped wings. He recorded an assist on a goal by Gustavo Bou and overall looked more comfortable. He was subbed off in the 60th minute for Teal Bunbury, likely trying to push the Revs higher up the pitch.

Also of note, per The Bent Musket, SBNation’s Revolution blog, there’s some serious international interest in Tajon, including the likes of Juventus and Sporting Lisbon, but primarily as a right back... It worked for Alphonso Davies, maybe there’s something in the Canadian water to convert forwards to fullbacks.

Luther Archimede, FW, NY Red Bulls and Sondre Norheim, CB/FB, Nashville SC

The two 2021 MLS draft picks haven’t officially made the gameday rosters for their respective teams. More to come as the season progresses as to whether we see them on the senior sides, or at their teams’ USL affiliates.

Other professionals, seasons not started yet:

USL:

Nyal Higgins, CB, Toronto FC II

CFL:

Sergio Camargo, MF, Cavalry FC

Chris Nanco, FW, Forge FC