Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By DAN KARELL
After negotiating for more than a month, Tristan Bowen is officially a member of the Seattle Sounders.
The club announced the news on Wednesday afternoon that the first-ever Homegrown signing in the history of Major League Soccer had come to terms on a new contract. The Sounders acquired the rights to Bowen from Chivas USA in a trade on Dec. 11 in exchange for the rights to Mauro Rosales.
“Tristan is a young player who has good experience in this league,” Sigi Schmid, the Sounders head coach said in a statement. “He is very athletic and brings flexibility to our club. Tristan has the ability to play multiple positions.”
Playing as a lone striker devoid of much service, Bowen struggled last season with the Goats, scoring just two goals and adding two assists in 22 appearances. The 22-year-old drew harsh criticism and condemnation last season for spitting at an opponent (Chris Klute of the Colorado Rapids), a move that earned Bowen a red card and two-match suspension.
In 48 career regular season MLS games, the former U.S. youth international has scored four goals and six assists.
——–
What do you think of this news? Do you expect this year to be Bowen’s breakout season? What do you believe are Schmid’s expectations of Bowen? How many goes do you think he can score next year?
Galaxy let him go because they had Zardes, McBean, and Villereal all coming up in their youth system. Plus, he was part of the Galaxy’s Juan Pablo Angel fiasco. He was dealt to the Goats on the same day the Gals signed JPA. The Galaxy didn’t need any more future goal-scorers. They needed immediate help. Sadly, they didn’t get any from Angel.
I wish the Galaxy would have held on to him.
Anytime a player gets out of the Chivas organization, he deserves a genuine congratulations. Congrats, Tristan.