Posted On Tuesday, February 5th, 2019

Former IFX Player Brendan McDonough selected 35th Overall in MLS SuperDraft

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With Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs shaping 2019 rosters, pleasant news came in from Matthews, North Carolina. The former IFX Germany Program participant, Brendan McDonough (22) who at the time was playing with IFX partner club Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig as part of his participation in the Youth IFX Year Germany program, was selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC with the 35th overall selection of the 2019 MLS Major League Soccer SuperDraft a few weeks ago.

Since Brendan was 9 years old, he aspired to have professional soccer career. During his U14 season he was captain and starting mid on the top team for Charlotte Soccer Academy. Soon thereafter he embarked on a life changing experience with IFX to bring his talent to Europe and learn first hand the German soccer style, the same style that brought much success to the German National team in the past years. After returning back home from Germany, McDonough was recruited to play for Georgetown Hoyas, where he became a standout NCAA D1 player, playing superb defense and becoming a cornerstone for his team.

As a team captain, McDonough was a Second Team All-East Region and a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2018. He and the defense managed a league-best 10 shutouts in one season. McDonough had one goal and one assist on the year for three points. His lone goal was the game winner against Marquette in the BIG EAST Championship. In the words of Marc Dos Santos, the Vancouver Whitecamps Manager, the new Whitecaps center back (McDonough) has the ability to play back four or back three, he is comfortable on the ball and aggressive defensively which is why they are so happy to have him join to the club. “He’s a player that caught our eye at the combine and even before.” McDonough augments a talented list of new Vancouver players including midfielder Andy Rose, goalkeepers Zac MacMath and Maxime Crépeau, and left back/winger Victor “PC” Giro. 

As a high school student and part of the Youth Year IFX Germany program, Brendan lived with a German host family, studied at a German high school and played for Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig e. V. FT Braunschwieg is a German soccer club who played at the time in the Niedersachenliga, a highly competitive statewide league for the state of Lower Saxony Football Association, and a club rich in history who was among the founding members of the third-rate amateur league 4. Braunschweig is a large city about two hours from Berlin, it is extremely clean, has both modern buildings and historic castles. Our partner club plays local games at Prince Park Stadium with capacity for 3500 spectators. Some professional players that have emerged from this club are Justin Eilers, Marc Pfitzner and Damir Vrancic.

  • In Germany, Brendan played for Freie Turnerschaft Braunschweig e.V.
  • Back home, Brendan McDonough was recruited to play for Georgetown Hoyas.
  • Brendan was selected in MLS Superdraft 2019 and now playing for Charlotte Independence

In his career for Georgetown University, McDonough was a two-time all-region selection, twice named All-BIG EAST and a two-year captain for the Blue & Gray. The defender appeared in 63 games with 56 starts. He scored two goals and managed two assists for six career points. The team won three BIG EAST Championships and appeared in as many NCAA Tournaments. These are more than enough reasons to be invited to MLS combine and his selection by Vancouver Whitecaps FC is difficult to dispute.

We would like to congratulate Brendan on this tremendous accomplishment and wish him the best of luck with his future professional soccer career. We will continue to follow this promising young talent during his new era with Whitecaps.

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