![]() ![]() That’s been, for me, compelling, because not every young guy gets that opportunity, let alone thrives with it.” Brian Schmetzer has been really good at trying not to strip him down and not trying to take away what makes him special. ![]() “Goals and assists certainly elevate your status, but I just am so happy to see that he’s been given the chance and he’s also been given the chance to express himself. “I was just so happy for him,” Clark said. On an average day at Kakuma, Bwana would have to walk six miles just to get water and after relocating to America, the cultural adjustments were vast.īwana has referred to his gratitude for making it from those beginnings to the MLS stage in his few interactions with the media so far this season, and Clark also said it’s something he thought about as he watched him find the net for that first career tally against Toronto. Playing with family and friends at Kakuma, Bwana started forging the skills that would see him become a local standout for Ballard High School in Seattle and the Sounders Academy before going to UW.īut life was difficult, too. ![]() Originally from Kenya, Bwana spent six years at Kakuma refugee camp before his family was able to resettle in America back in 2010. It’s a journey tailor-made for the big screen and makes his path to the Sounders all the more remarkable. ”īwana also has one of the more compelling backstories in MLS – profiled in detail by the Seattle Times last year. And I think he’s up to that, it just won’t be as easy. Right now, with all the injuries, he might have to shoulder a bigger load. “I don’t think they should necessarily be looking to him directly. But he’s going to be a piece in the team,” Clark said in a phone interview with on Wednesday. In Seattle’s 2-1 road win over Toronto FC win on May 9, he broke through with his first MLS goal, what turned out to be a game-winning second-half tally.Įven at his young age, the raw talent is obvious, and Bwana’s college coach at UW, Jamie Clark, said he’s intrigued to see what his former pupil can do with what figures to be an expanded role in the coming weeks. After subbing on in his MLS debut against LAFC at CenturyLink Field on March 4, he came within inches of scoring what would have been a dramatic late equalizer with a laser shot that rang off the woodwork. Throw in a recent toe problem that has sidelined star playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro and a lingering knee injury to winger Victor Rodriguez, and Seattle’s attacking depth is currently stretched about as thin as it has been since head coach Brian Schmetzer took over midway through 2016.Įnter Bwana, the enticing Homegrown attacker who is coming off a dominant two-year run at the University of Washington.īwana has already appeared in seven of the team’s first nine matches, starting four of them. Seattle’s only other pure striker, Will Bruin, is currently on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time with a partially torn plantar fascia. Forward Jordan Morris won’t play at all this season after tearing his ACL in February. The Sounders’ start to the 2018 season has been decimated by injuries, especially to their attack. SEATTLE – At 18 years old, Seattle Sounders rookie midfielder Handwalla Bwana is the youngest player on the club’s first-team roster.įor the next few weeks, at least, he’s also going to be one of the most important. ![]()
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