Quakes’ goalkeeper suits up for U.S. team
It’s a sunny, yet chilly Tuesday morning at the Avaya Stadium practice field, and David Bingham is working on free-kick drills. The Earthquakes’ goalkeeper allows one of the balls to get past him for a goal, but quickly gets ready for the next shot to come his way.
On Friday, Bingham will get a shot of a different kind. The Cal alum was a late roster addition to the U.S. men’s national team, which plays a World Cup qualifying match against Honduras at Avaya Stadium. Consider it double home-field advantage for the Pleasanton native.
“A lot of guys don’t get to play in front of their family and friends a lot, and I’m lucky enough where I get to do it almost every other weekend,” said Bingham, who replaced Brad Guzan (paternity leave) on the U.S. roster. “It’s definitely a positive.”
Soccer has been a part of Bingham’s life since he can remember. His older sister, Kim, played for Arizona State
as well as the U.S. women’s national team. Bingham sneaked in some baseball and basketball. It wasn’t until the sixth grade that he made up his mind about sticking to the sport he truly loved.
“I think I was the best at it,” he said with a chuckle.
Bingham played at California High as a goalie, like his sister, then joined the Mustang United soccer club based in Danville. The club won the state cup in 2007.
At Cal, he played under long-time head coach Kevin Grimes, who said Bingham’s combination of goalkeeping skill and athleticism stood out.
Bingham is “the kind of guy that you can put in any sport and he would be successful,” said Grimes, who took the Bears to the Elite Eight in 2010 with Bingham as the starting goalie.
Bingham was drafted by the Quakes in 2011 and made his MLS debut against the New England Revolution. He became the full-time starter in 2015, playing in all 34 games for San Jose.
“I’m the type of person that I want to play at all times and it’s frustrating when you don’t,” Bingham said. “But you’ve gotta put your head down and keep working. I guess it turned out all right.”
He made his first appearance for the U.S. men’s team in January 2016, when he recorded a 1-0 shutout in a friendly against Canada. He was called up again in October when he played another set of friendly games, this time against Chile and New Zealand.
Although Bingham likely won’t play Friday — he is third on the depth chart behind likely starter Tim Howard and Nick Rimando — it’s a big deal to be named to a roster for a World Cup qualifier, as opposed to a mere friendly.
It’s not an easy job: One day he’s at a Quakes practice in San Jose. The next, he’s on a plane to a different city to practice for the national team (although this week, the U.S. team is in San Jose).
“But it’s a lot of fun and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. We have a busy year this year, so I look forward to it,” he said.
Quakes forward and Danville native Chris Wondolowski, who also recently was added to the U.S. roster, knows plenty about the rigorous schedule of playing for two teams in the same season. But he’s confident his teammate has what it takes to start for the national team.
“It’s always an interesting path with the U.S. because you’re never there consistently day in and day out. You never know what happens with injuries and stuff like that. David has the skill set and the mentality to be the No. 1. It’ll be sooner than later,” Wondolowski said.
Bingham would like to follow in the footsteps of top U.S. goalies like Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel and Tim Howard. Bingham has become a household name in San Jose. Last year, he started all 34 games for a second straight season, won the Quakes’ Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the MLS All-Star team.
He said it would be nice to make it into the MLS playoffs. San Jose hasn’t been in the postseason since losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2012 Western Conference semifinals.
“After that, I want to become a mainstay with the U.S. team; that’s everyone’s dream,” he said. “I want to be one of the guys that when Bruce (Arena) puts together his camp roster that you’re one of the first ones down and that’s really the goal this year.”