NCAA grad McDonough signs with Whitecaps
Remember Kay Banjo, Thomas Sanner or Santiago Bedoya? Or perhaps Alejandro Sucre, Chris Estridge or Nazeem Bartman? No? You’re not alone.
Few would, outside of their parents or the most hardcore of Vancouver Whitecaps fans. Those names belonged to a few of the 57 players drafted by the team in its Major League Soccer existence, a process that has unearthed a few diamonds in the rough.
Fullback Jake Nerwinski (No. 7 overall, 2017) and centreback Tim Parker (No. 13 overall, 2015) were the only two to find real success with the team, albeit Kekuta Manneh and Erik Hurtado (Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, in 2013) and Darren Mattocks (No. 2, 2012) earned regular minutes as both starters and substitutes.
The odds were stacked against Brendan McDonough when the Caps selected him in the second round, 35th overall in this year’s SuperDraft. Few players have cracked the first-team roster after being drafted, let alone that deep.
You have to go all the way back to 2011 — the draft year of current Caps goalkeeper Zac MacMath — to find a Whitecap who had consistent minutes after being picked so late: Michael Boxall, who was the No. 1 pick in the supplemental draft (37th overall). Ironically, he was a key member of the Minnesota United defence that beat the Caps 3-2 last Saturday.
On Wednesday, the team announced it had signed the former Georgetown Hoya for 2019, with options through 2022.
“I guess I did beat those odds,” said the 6-2, 190-pound centreback. “The only way you do that is if you believe in yourself. I’ve stayed confident and true to my game and just worked hard. Everyone appreciates hard work, even if you make a mistake, so I’ve focused on that.”
McDonough hasn’t stood out from the crop of centrebacks signed by the Caps, and that’s a good thing. Coming from the NCAA ranks, the leap to the professional level means a dizzying jump in speed and comprehension of the game, but he’s adjusted quickly enough that Marc Dos Santos and his staff were willing to keep him around longer. He’ll likely slot in with the newly formed U-23 touring team coached by Nick Dasovic.
“That’s why he signed. That’s why he’s getting a chance. If (he wasn’t), he wouldn’t be signing with the club,” said Dos Santos.
“He gives us depth, but he’s not going to bring something to the first team right away. We can’t look at it that way. Brendan is a player who we want to continue to evaluate inside our system, inside our club, using our development squad. So that’s how we’re going to use him the next couple of months.
“A player like that, you need to look at him with more games, more attention. The development squad will allow us to do that for more guys. Myself and Nick will be able to follow his growth and see if he’s able to one day be a first-team player or not.”
He fits the mould that Dos Santos wants in a centreback: aggressive, comfortable on and off the ball, and able to win aerial battles. He’s the first to admit he’s made mistakes, but he’s also adopted the pro mentality of being able to move on from them quickly.
Doneil Henry and Erik Godoy — both 25 — have taken the early role as the starting centrebacks, with Derek Cornelius and the currently rehabbing Jasser Khimri ( both 21) next on the depth chart.
McDonough is realistic about what his role is going to be with the club. “It’s always a competition in the pro environment,” said the 22-year-old. “It’s funny; I’m older than Derek, but he’s been a pro for five years. So he’s like a big brother to me. And Doneil has been great, he’s also like a big brother. And we’re working through the language barrier with Jasser and Erik, but so far it’s been fun.
“It’s such a mental grind, the pre-season,” he added. “The biggest thing is to not think that I’ve ‘made it,’ now that I’ve signed. All the hard work I’ve put in these past few weeks, it’s got to be the same.
“Even though I’ve signed, I know where I am on the depth chart. Nothing stops (now that I’ve signed) the contract.”
The Atlanta-born McDonough might have come from the NCAA ranks, but his journey to Vancouver wasn’t the typical one. He spent 2013 in Germany playing for Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig and Eintracht Braunschweig before returning home to finish high school at Charlotte Catholic before spending four years at Georgetown, where he led the Hoyas to a 13-5-3 regular season and a Big East title this past season.
While he’s chosen to pursue futbol as his vocation, McDonough’s father is a well-known NFL executive, now entering his seventh year with the Arizona Cardinals, the sixth as the vice-president of player personnel.
The younger McDonough jokes he’s got a few ticket and jersey requests from his new teammates, but made sure he got off on the right foot with his new coach.
“It’s funny, the first question Marc asked in the combine interviews was did I play fantasy football … because he hates it,” he said, laughing. “So I’m on the record saying ‘I don’t play fantasy football.’”
THROW-INS: The Whitecaps announced Thursday the signing of academy goalkeeper Thomas Hasal to an MLS homegrown contract through 2020, with options for 2021 and 2022. A member of the WFC Saskatchewan Academy Centre before moving to Vancouver, he’s also played for Canada at the U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels.
“We see a lot of potential in Thomas,” said Dos Santos. “He was recommended by our academy coaches and we liked what we saw during pre-season. With our structure in place with the U-23 development squad, he will have the opportunity to continue to grow as a goalkeeper and progress in our club.” … McDonough’s sports links don’t stop with his dad. His late grandfather, Will, was a columnist and sports reporter for the Boston Globe, CBS Sports and NBC Sports.