Tony Alfaro

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2017 (Seattle): In his second professional season, Alfaro earned significantly more playing time than his rookie campaign. The defender started eight MLS regular season matches and made seven further appearances as a substitute, logging 817 minutes in total. He helped the Rave Green to two shutouts in his first two starts of the season: A scoreless draw with Atlanta United (March 31) and a 3-0 win over LA Galaxy (April 23). In his first start against a Cascadia side, Alfaro played 76 minutes on the road in a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps (August 23). Alfaro also played 90 minutes in Seattle’s 2-1 loss to San Jose in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and a 1-1 friendly draw vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (July 8).

2016 (Seattle): Alfaro made six appearances and one start as a rookie in 2016 after being selected in the Second Round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. He saw his professional game action with back-to-back first-half injury substitution appearances against the New England Revolution (May 28) and D.C. United (June 1). In each of Alfaro’s five substitute appearances, he played in more than 25 minutes – including three of at least 45 minutes – logging 286 minutes total on the season. The Cal State Dominguez Hills product made his first career start in a late-season 0-0 draw against the Houston Dynamo (October 12). ​

COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

2015: In his senior season at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Alfaro was named a First Team All-American by the NSCAA and Second Team by Division II CCA. He earned honors as the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to a First Team All-West position. He started in each of his 21 appearances for a team-high 1,954 minutes. The team captain scored six goals, including five from penalty spot. He scored game-winning goals against Humboldt State and Chico State.

2014: As a junior, Alfaro started all 20 of his collegiate matches. He recorded a goal in contests against Fresno Pacific and Sonoma State, in addition to three assists. Alfaro’s end-of-year honors included a selections to the NSCAA All-Region Second Team, All-CCAA First Team and Daktronics All-Region First Team.

2013: Alfaro started each of his 16 appearances in his sophomore campaign, in which he earned Second Team All-CCAA honors. He scored his lone goal of the season in a 3-1 victory over Cal State Monterey Bay.

2012: As a freshman, Alfaro made 14 starts through 18 appearances. He was named a Third Team NSCAA All-Region and Second Team All-CCAA selection. The defender scored his lone goal of the campaign in a 3-0 win against Cal Poly Pomona.

PERSONAL

The son of Jose and Maria, Alfaro has an older sister, Karen, and younger brother, Luis. At Santa Barbara High School, Alfaro led the Dons to the CIF title as a junior and regional title as a senior. Alfaro was named defensive MVP each year. His favorite athletes are Gerard Pique and Xavi Hernandez.

ACQUIRED

Alfaro was selected with the seventh pick of the Second Round (27^th overall) in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft and signed by Sounders FC on March 8, 2016.