Quick, can you name which current Seattle Sounders forward scored the most goals during his prep career?
It wasn’t Clint Dempsey, who spent his entire youth playing for an elite club in Texas called the Dallas Texans.
And it wasn’t Jordan Morris, who mainly played midfielder at Mercer Island High School, and was the Gatorade state player of the year in Washington in 2012.
It’s newcomer Will Bruin.
Bruin, 27, whom the Sounders acquired from Houston on Dec. 23 in exchange for general allocation money, tallied an astounding 102 goals in four years at De Smet Jesuit High School (2005-08) in St. Louis.
The Sounders are banking on a rebound effort from Bruin, a goal-scorer with a long pedigree who is coming off his worst season in Major League Soccer in 2016 — and the worst soccer year of his life.
And not only are the Sounders hoping Bruin regains his previous form, they have similar hopes for midfielder Harry Shipp, who was acquired from Montreal after a down season in 2016.
“You try and find distressed assets and rehabilitate them, and those guys usually (end up being) good value,” Sounders general manager Garth Lagerway said. “We think they are kids who are very talented and can help us.”
At whatever level Bruin has played, he has shown one uncanny ability — putting the soccer ball into the back of net.
After high school, Bruin attended Indiana University where he scored 33 goals in 66 matches. In 2010, he placed second to current Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe for national collegiate player of the year after scoring 18 goals as a junior.
Bruin entered the MLS Super Draft in 2011, and was selected 11th overall by the Dynamo.
Known for his physical style and his ability to control action in the air, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Bruin scored 46 goals in his first five seasons — the sixth-highest total in the MLS during that span (2011-15).
If Bruin can approach past production as a double-digit goal scorer — that would suit Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer just fine.
“Will Bruin is a good player — a good forward,” Schmetzer said. “He was a 10-12 (goal-per-season) scorer throughout his MLS career.”
He made a big impact in his second season in 2012, tallying 10 goals, including a franchise-record four goals in the postseason in leading the Dynamo to the second of back-to-back MLS Cup appearances.
But after Bruin’s production sagged last season — he scored four goals in 31 matches — the Dynamo were aggressive in the offseason looking for alternatives, signing Honduran standouts Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto as free agents to pair with leading scorer Andrew Wenger.
Bruin figured early on after the season that he was on his way out.
“I was ready for another challenge and another chapter in my career,” Bruin said. “I just didn’t know where.”
Bruin said he was in Indiana having breakfast with his wife when Houston general manager Matt Jordan called him to tell him of the trade to Seattle.
“It is something I am excited for,” Bruin said. “It doesn’t take away anything from Houston and the six years I was there. I was drafted by them … I maybe got a little too comfortable there. I was ready to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself again. That is when I play my best — when I am uncomfortable and on my toes.”
Depending on Dempsey’s health, Bruin figures to slot nicely up top in the spot that since-departed Nelson Valdez held late last season, which would enable Morris to continue playing on the perimeter.
“I’ve always played as a No. 9 (primary striker) if it’s a one-forward system … but I am honestly open to whatever puts me on the field,” Bruin said. “I don’t want to say I am one type of player, and that I am not open to growth or change.”
ADDED TIME
The Sounders have loaned forward Victor Mansaray to FC Cincinnati for the 2017 USL campaign. Mansaray, 19, is set to join the club immediately following his return from camp with the United States U-20 squad. The youngest homegrown player in franchise history when he signed with Sounders FC in 2014 at 17, Mansaray has three career MLS appearances. … The Sounders scrimmage against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in Tucson, Arizona. The team wraps up its desert training session on Wednesday. They’ll take two days off and return to practice at Starfire on Sunday.
