Former Air Force soccer player Tucker Bone notches goal, assist in USL victory

Few Air Force Academy graduates are having a better week than Tucker Bone.

On Saturday, the former Falcons’ men’s soccer player netted a goal and an assist in Reno 1868 FC’s 3-1 win over the Landon Donovan-coached San Diego Loyal SC. And both plays were pretty impressive.

For his assist, which resulted in Reno’s first score of the night, Bone ran onto a bouncy through ball down the right flank of the pitch. He beat his defender with some fancy footwork, made his way into the box, and sliced a pass across the area to teammate Foster Langsdorf, who easily beat San Diego’s keeper with a point-blank shot in the 24th minute.

In the second half, amid some confusion after a quick opportune counter-attack by Reno, Bone collected the ball after San Diego’s keeper came way off his line to halt a shot attempt. With the keeper out of the cage, Bone took one touch, then fired a right-footed shot from distance that banged against the far post before settling into the back of the net.

For his heroics, the Granite Bay, California native was named to the USL Championship Team of the Week.

Bone, 24, has two goals and one assist to his name in six appearances this season for Reno. Last season, playing for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks — who also play in the USL Championship, the second tier of pro soccer in the U.S. — he tallied one goal and one assists in 16 appearances.

At Air Force, Bone was a two-time finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and a three-time All-WAC First Team selection. He was also a two-time All-American and notched 25 goals and 22 assists in his career with the Falcons.

Bone was selected 20th overall by the Seattle Sounders in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Although he never made a regular season appearance with the club’s first team, he seems to have found some comfort playing for Reno.

Reno’s next game is on Saturday, Aug. 29 against Phoenix Rising FC. All USL Championship matches can be streamed via ESPN+.