Mark Anthony Gonzalez joined the Swope Park Rangers last week, becoming the fourth member of the team to have a connection to Canada. Originally from Bolton, Ontario, Gonzalez joins fellow player Johnny Grant (Toronto, Ontario), head coach Marc Dos Santos (Montreal, Quebec) and goalkeeper coach Alec Dufty who coached at Toronto FC II in 2015 as members of the Rangers who have spent time north of the border.
In high school, Gonzalez helped Glenn Shields FC and Brampton East Snipers to league championships before joining Sigma FC – one of the premier soccer clubs in Ontario. While with Sigma, he led the team in scoring on their way to claiming the 2011 Ontario Soccer League Under-21 League Cup.
Gonzalez committed to the University of Evansville in Indiana and joined the soccer program as a freshman in 2012. He made an immediate impact for the Purple Aces, tying the team-high for goals with five and being named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team.
He continued to make an impression during the next three seasons, tallying 22 more goals while being named to the MVC First Team in each season while he was also a NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Midwest Region Second Team selection as a sophomore and again as a senior.
When he was home for the summer during his college years, Gonzalez played for Sigma FC in League1 Ontario alongside current teammate Grant as well as the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year Cyle Larin and his Orlando City SC teammate Richie Laryea, who was recently selected in the first round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Gonzalez scored three goals in eight games for Sigma FC before returning to Evansville for his junior year.
In 2015, the 21-year-old spent his summer playing for Toronto FC’s Academy in the USL PDL, playing in seven games and scoring three goals before completing his final year at Evansville and joining the Swope Park Rangers in January 2016.
