A&M-Victoria’s Bonney set to represent Dominica in international friendlies

By Sam Fowler

Assistant Athletic Director-Communications

There's one goal soccer players value over almost any other.

The opportunity to represent one's national team and donning their country's crest is something every player dreams of from the time they're little.

Texas A&M University-Victoria men's soccer player Mosiah Bonney has experienced that twice for his home country of Dominica and he'll get to do it for a third time with a pair of international friendlies this week against Saint Martin, on Nov. 12, and Sint Maarten, on Nov. 15, at St. Kitts & Nevis.

 "In terms of with the national side, my goal is to always serve my country, to always play the best I can to help in any way possible and always fight for the badge," Bonney said. "That's the ultimate goal."

The junior defender is the first A&M-Victoria soccer player to play at the international level. His last trip with Dominica was during the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers over the summer.

"Not too many people have those opportunities to represent their country," said first-year head coach Vince Martinez. "It's an honor for him to go and represent his country. So, I was excited for him when I got the letter from the Dominica National Team."

First-year impact

Bonney just wrapped up his first season at A&M-Victoria after transferring from State Fair Community College in Missouri.

He featured in 18 matches with 17 starts and helped the Jaguars' backline post four clean sheets this year as they reached the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament for the 11^th time. Bonney was a second team All-RRAC selection this year and scored two goals with the second sending A&M-Victoria into the conference tournament in a 2-1 win over North American on the final day of the season on Nov. 1.

His work ethic and leadership stood out immediately to Martinez when the team arrived for preseason camp in August.

"He's one of the hardest working players," Martinez said. "When we came into camp, he came into camp prepared. He did everything like a professional those first two weeks of training camp.

"We wouldn't have been in the position we were in had it not been for Mosiah."

Bonney wanted to challenge himself on the field, which led him from State Fair, where he was a two-time All-Region selection, to south Texas and A&M-Victoria.

After facing the tough competition in the RRAC, Bonney feels his game has been elevated where he can better represent both the university and his country on the field.

"Before coming here, I always wanted a challenge. I always wanted something that was harder to do," Bonney said. "So, playing in this conference and playing against these teams, I just try to play my best game. There's good strikers and wingers. I try to go for the challenge every time to showcase what I can do. I think competing with this wonderful team in this difficult conference, it was a challenge I was up for 100%. It has been an elevation (of play) for me."

Boyhood dream realized

Soccer runs in the Bonney family and Mosiah grew up watching his father and older brother play. His younger brother, Malachai, is following in his footsteps as a freshman at State Fair and is on the squad for this round of friendlies, as well.

"Ever since I can remember, I've been playing soccer. It's always been a family thing," Mosiah said. "So, seeing that my dad and my bigger brother played, it was just an automatic thing to go on and play it myself."

Growing up around the game and seeing his older brother, Marcellus, play for Dominica led Mosiah to set a goal for playing for the national team.

"Obviously, seeing (my older brother) actually make it on that stage had some part to play in that," he said. "But it's always been a personal thing, you know? I always reckoned that I was good enough, so why not give it a try."

That dream was realized in 2023 when he was called up for the CONCACAF Nations League and earned his first start against St. Lucia. He was called up again this summer for a pair of World Cup Qualifiers against the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic.

With each call-up, Bonney wants to continue to grow the game and elevate the Dominica Men's National Team.

"Being a part of that growth, it shows that if I can do it, others can do it because, at that time, I had friends who were playing as good as me," Bonney said. "Seeing that I could make it early on, it gave an idea to the other boys. It gave them a little push like, 'If my friend Mosi can make it, why not me?' I feel like it influenced a lot people I surround myself with."