San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham made his U.S. Men’s National Team debut on Friday night in Carson, California. While Bay Area aficionados have known about his tremendous talent for years, followers of the USMNT may have been oblivious to the gem they had minding the woodwork at the StubHub Center.
Bingham grew up in the Bay Area, treading in the same soccer footsteps as future Quakes teammate and USMNT alum Chris Wondolowski in the youth leagues of Danville, CA. Bingham attended Cal (2008-2010) and helped the Bears reach the quarter-finals of the NCAA tournament in 2010. Bingham found his MLS home with San Jose after signing a Generation Adidas contract in 2010; San Jose won the rights to him via a weighted lottery in January 2011.
It did not take long for Bingham to make a name for himself. On July 12, 2011 he scored a goal from his own 18-yard-box against Barclay’s Premiere League team West Bromwich Albion F.C. Bay Area fans (and some West Brom fans) took notice of the youngster who helped the Quakes earn a 2-1 victory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05VhDBSQ8JQ
With the departure of Jon Busch at the end of the 2014 season, it was Bingham’s time to shine in 2015, and shine he did. At just 25 years of age, Bingham started all 34 games for the Quakes last season. He placed 4th in MLS for saves (105) and posted a stellar 1.15 Goals Against Average. He tied an Earthquakes franchise record with 12 clean sheets in his first season as the primary ‘keeper. He also anchored a defense which posted the longest MLS shut out streak of 2015: 448 minutes.
Bingham continued his outstanding play for the United States. In their previous nine matches the USMNT had only posted one clean sheet, a 0-0 draw to Trinidad & Tobago on November 17. On Friday Bingham helped secure a clean sheet win, the first since a 6-0 win against Cuba on July 18, 2015. Not a bad start to a professional career.
USMNT Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann had nothing but praise for the young ‘keeper from San Jose after Friday’s match. “I think he really had a good game. He came off the line, controlled his box. He tried to play the ball out quickly. He tried to find midfielders right away in higher positions. He was confident. He was not nervous.”
In an interview with the San Jose Earthquakes, Bingham reflected that a “1-0 shut-out is definitely a highlight. It doesn’t get much better than that on your first cap.”
For now, Bingham should be considered the number four or five ‘keeper on the USMNT behind Everton’s Tim Howard, Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan, and D.C. United’s Bill Hamid. Time will tell if either Bingham, NYRB’s Luis Robles or Chicago Fire’s Sean Johnson will be fourth on Klinsmann’s depth chart. But given Bingham’s strong outing on Friday and his formidable 2015 season, fans of U.S. Soccer should take note of the up-and-coming ‘keeper from San Jose and plan to see more of #22 in the future.
