Wilson reflects on path to Bona soccer program

photo courtesy of gobonnies.sbu.edu

By Dustyn Green

ST. BONAVENTURE, NY — Dreams.

Every kid has them. They will change, cause stress and lead them down a life-changing path.

In the world of sports, one of the most common dreams is to play collegiately on an NCAA Division I team. For most, this is the culmination of four years of hard work on and off your high school team.

However, that was not the case for St. Bonaventure men’s soccer goalkeeper Trevor Wilson.

“I only played one year of high school soccer,” Wilson said.

Before taking off for a development program with the Portland Timbers, which did not allow him to play high school contests, Wilson earned first-team all-league as a sophomore in high school.

His experience continued by playing on an Olympic development team, where he represented the state of Oregon.

“I played on a regional team that consisted of players from 13 states on the West Coast,” Wilson said. “The idea of it is to get to train in as professional of an environment as you can every day.”

Wilson said spots on the team are very limited, which means there are no guarantees. Players develop at a higher and faster rates due to the environment.

It goes beyond the physical training and stretches into the mental aspects of competitiveness and edge. Ultimately, these aspects are what led the senior marketing major to four years of collegiate soccer.

Wilson spent his first two campaigns at DePaul before transferring to SBU for his junior season in 2019.

Wilson wasted no time impressing the Bona faithful, or the SBU coaching staff, in his first season at SBU. He started 10 contests for the Bonnies, including a game at Dayton, in which he had a career-high of eight saves.

Wilson averaged 2.31 goals allowed a year ago, and had saved 69% of the shots that he faced.

Like most college athletes across the nation, Wilson was affected by the COVID-19 cancelation of the 2020 fall sports season, and had to grapple with the decision of how he wanted to pursue his future.

As of now, he plans to return to SBU for a fifth year.