Tristan Bowen (born January 30, 1991) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. Bowen was the first ever homegrown player in MLS history.

Career

Youth

Bowen, who was

homeschooled Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

, 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 Chivas ...

towards the end of the 2008 season, and was formally signed by the senior

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

against

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. He made his MLS debut on June 20, 2009, in a game against

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. 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 soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

and to

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, 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 (201 ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

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 Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

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 The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

. Bowen returned from his loan stint on May 17, 2012. Bowen was traded to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

in exchange for

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Best known for his pace and crossing ability, he won a gold medal with Argentina at the 2004 Summer Olympics. ...

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 are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

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

KuPS Kuopion Palloseura, commonly referred to as KuPS, is a Finnish professional football club based in Kuopio. KuPS competes in Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football. The team plays its home matches at Kuopio Football Stadium. KuPS ha ...

in the Finnish

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

. 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 Association football, soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference. F ...

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 previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

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 as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

teams

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

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 the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. He is eligible to represent Jamaica through parentage.

Honors

LA Galaxy *

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Supporter's Shield (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Seattle Sounders FC *

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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

Champion (1):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Supporter's Shield (1):

AFC Eskilstuna *Promotion to

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

(2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Tristan 1991 births Living people American expatriate men's soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Challenger Pro League players Chivas USA players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Hollywood United Hitmen players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) 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 men's footballers in Sweden Homegrown Players (MLS) 21st-century American sportsmen