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The question sailed over Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney's head, but a few minutes later the subject of the discussion fielded it as neatly as he had done with a dying gasp from the opposition.

"Did you think we saw the best Bono performance here rather than at the Rogers Centre?" a postmatch interrogator wondered. The reference was to the U2 concert that was going on as TFC was beating the New England Revolution 2-0 last Friday at BMO Field, with goalkeeper Alex Bono making an eye-popping save late in the game to preserve the win.

Vanney, who falls right in the U2 demographic at the age of 43, said something to the effect of "Ah, it was a great save." That would be the diving, one-handed stab by the lesser-known Bono, on a header from New England forward Teal Bunbury, that prevented the visitors from tying the score and kept the three points in TFC's grasp.

Alex Bono, 20 years younger than his coach but far ahead of him in terms of pop culture knowledge, laughed and said of the other Bono, "He was before my time.

"I'm hoping there's a new Bono in town," he said. "Obviously you can't surpass U2. But a close second would be cool."

While a Reds game played in front of 27,261 fans definitely played second fiddle to U2, who played to a crowd twice that size at Rogers Centre, it may have marked the moment the emerging Bono nailed down the No. 1 goalkeeper's job with TFC for a long, long time.

The win, which avenged a 3-0 loss to the Revolution earlier this month, was Bono's 13th start in the 17 games TFC has played this season. While he was initially given a crack at the No. 1 job in early April, when Clint Irwin was lost for a month with a strained hamstring, Bono appears to have grabbed the position in his second Major League Soccer season.

"You can say whatever you like," Vanney said when asked if Bono is now the No. 1. "For me, I have two goalkeepers who are competing. We don't have to make a decision today. I think we've got guys who in every position are competing.

"Right now, for this moment in time, Alex is the guy we've chosen for those games."

While this change was overshadowed by other changes in TFC's starting lineup, such as the arrival of midfielder Victor Vazquez, Bono does have an impressive résumé. He earned a string of awards in college soccer, including an all-American selection, with his hometown Syracuse University.

The Reds took him sixth over all in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, the same year he joined their development team TFC II. Another Irwin injury, a quadriceps strain, gave Bono his first taste of MLS last year, when he appeared in 16 matches. While his debut was forgettable – two goals allowed on two shots late in a match against Orlando City SC – he finished with an 8-3-5 record last season, including four clean sheets.

That experience paved the way for a smooth transition to starting goaltender when Irwin was hurt this year – so smooth he now has what appears to be a tight grip on the job. The key, Bono said, is to always think of yourself as a No. 1 goalkeeper.

"I do," he said. "I've always acted, trained as one. I've always had the mentality, and now that I've played the bulk of the games it's obviously still a battle. [Irwin] is a fantastic goalkeeper, and we'll continue to battle throughout the season."

While Irwin is healthy again, he faces a challenge in regaining his old job. Bono now has five clean sheets in 2017 and a 9-2-3 record in his 14 appearances. Chances are he will get the start Tuesday night when the Reds go after the Canadian Championship at BMO Field in the return leg against the Montreal Impact.

Bono would love to make his attachment to Toronto permanent, as opposed to one day playing in the European leagues, which is the more common dream of soccer players. His parents regularly make the drive from Baldwinsville, N.Y., near Syracuse, to Toronto for his games, and they all love the city.

But the real attraction is Toronto's status as a major media centre. Like most teenagers, Bono wanted to leave home for university, but he loves broadcasting as much as soccer, and Syracuse happens to have one of the best broadcast programs in the United States. While he wants his soccer career to run as long as possible, he has his eye on Toronto's long list of sports television networks and radio stations.

"I'm trying to take opportunities now to do broadcast stuff to try and get experience so I can go back [to Syracuse] and finish my degree," he said. "I'm trying to do radio and TV. I'm working with our media guys but not as much so far as I'd like. It's a work in progress."

He says he is not necessarily looking to make the usual transition to soccer analyst. His preference is a seat in the television studio, like the fellow he grew up watching on ESPN, noted yakker – some say screamer – Stephen A. Smith.

"I love to be in the studio, whether be it soccer or anything else. I'm a lover of all sports, really," Bono said. "When I was younger, what I really wanted to do was have an opinionated talk show on ESPN like First Take.

"That's ultimately what I wanted to do when I was a kid, and that may change along the way as I start getting into broadcast."

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