Before scoring the most goals for a Syracuse player since 1991, leading his team to the second round of the NCAA tournament and subsequently declaring for the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, Ryan Raposo had to make some changes. Sure, his freshman campaign — four goals, seven assists — was a start. But Raposo had work to do. 

To avoid feeling the late-season fatigue he experienced that first year, Raposo woke up at 5 a.m. most mornings in the summer for two training sessions. “I worked almost too hard in the summer where my parents were getting worried,” he said in May. An ankle injury limited Raposo in 2018, his former club coach Aleks Balta said, so the removal of his ankle brace was a liberating sign. The pieces were in place for Raposo to become the Orange’s primary striker. 

“My goal was 20, maybe 25 points in the season,” Raposo said in May. “So to finish with 37 points, I’m really happy with that.”

On Dec. 30, the Hamilton, Ontario native announced on Instagram that he’s entering the 2020 MLS Draft. By signing with Generation Adidas, the sophomore forgoes his last two years of eligibility. The signing marks the sixth consecutive year SU had produced a Generation Adidas player, the most of any school in the nation. 

Generation Adidas is a program sponsored by Adidas that grants American players early entry into the MLS Superdraft, and signing the contract has been on Raposo’s mind “since day one,” he said. Raposo is now one of four Generation Adidas players eligible for the 2020 MLS SuperDraft along with Robbie Robinson (Clemson), Jack Maher (Indiana) and Henry Kessler (Virginia).

He played for the U15 Canadian National Team and Vaughan Soccer Club in Ontario, Canada in the years leading prior to coming to Syracuse. After graduating high school, Raposo had several professional contract offers, but decided to play Division I. Because of SU’s reputation for producing Generation Adidas players — Tajon Buchanan, Alex Bono, Mo Adams, Julian Buescher and Miles Robinson — Raposo chose the Orange.

“That was a big-time decision, whether to take a pro contract or to take my chances at Syracuse,” Raposo said. “I was seeing what Syracuse was doing every year with the Generation Adidas and I thought, why not pursue my education and soccer career at the same time?”

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During his All-ACC Freshman team season, Raposo dealt with the nagging ankle injury. Balta said it may have affected him “maybe 5% or 6%” but made him hesitant at times. 

In 2019, Raposo broke out as one of the top underclassmen in the nation. He recorded four goals and two assists in the first four matches of the season, but then he said hit a “slump.” Raposo failed to score and logged one assist in SU’s next six games, only two of which were wins. The Orange’s next game, a visit to then-No. 18 North Carolina on Oct. 12 that marked the halfway point of their season, was the turning point for Raposo.

In a 4-3 comeback win, Raposo notched a hat-trick — the first of his SU career. Three games later, he had another one, along with two assists, against Division-III SUNY Morrisville.

“You want to keep your best players out there. We’ve ridden him at times, he’s played a lot of minutes,” SU head coach Ian McIntyre said after that 11-0 win. 

In the second half of the season, including four postseason games, Raposo tallied 11 goals and four assists, finishing his sophomore campaign with 37 points, the most of any sophomore in Syracuse history.

“I was hungry up until the final whistle at St. John’s to get more,” Raposo said. “Just pushing myself and always asking more and putting myself in the position to where the (MLS) has no choice (but to sign me) because I had that good of a season.”

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Shortly after SU’s season-ending loss to St. John’s in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 24, Raposo was invited to the inaugural Adidas MLS College Showcase to take place from Dec. 13-15 where he played in front of and interviewed with MLS teams. Two days later, Raposo received a call from the league that he would be selected as a Generation Adidas player. After over a week of contract negotiations between Raposo, his agent and the league, the 20-year-old officially signed. 

During the 12-day span between Raposo receiving and signing the contract, he spoke with McIntyre, for whom losing star players after two seasons has become regular. Raposo said McIntyre “guided and helped him through” the decision-making process.

“Some coaches try and make you stay and this and that, but at the end of the day, Coach (McIntyre) wanted what I wanted,” Raposo said. “Whatever that was, if I wanted to stay, he said he’d be more than happy to have me, but if I really wanted to take that opportunity then he and the program would be super supportive.”

As a Generation Adidas signee, Raposo is expected to make more than the $56,250 minimum salary of MLS players, somewhere in the range of $90,000 and $160,000, he estimated. In some MLS mock drafts, Raposo is expected to be picked in the latter part of the first round. 

“I came to Syracuse to play soccer and sign professionally. That’s always been the number one goal since I’ve been there,” Raposo said. “Once the opportunity arose, I really didn’t hesitate it was just figuring out the right numbers.”

Published on January 3, 2020 at 4:16 pm

Contact KJ: kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman