In a Manning Cup semi-final match against archrivals New York Greek Americans at Fleming Park earlier this month, Lansdowne Yonkers were level 1-1 in the last minute when new signing Dan\u00fa Kinsella-Bishop, a 23-year-old scoring ace, won it for the Bhoys.<\/p>\n
It was a clinical goal that reflected the enormous potential of the young striker whose finishing was horned in the League of Ireland. On the break, a ball was swung over the top, racing towards goal with a defender on either side, Kinsella-Bishop latched onto it. He held off one defender and beat the advancing Greek goalie with a low and hard shot. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u00a0The goal, one of six the huge talent from Rathfarnham in South Dublin has netted in just four appearances for the Bhoys, put the Matt Kane-drilled Lansdowne in next year\u2019s final of the New York State competition where they meet another Greek side, Leros FC, for the cup.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cDan\u00fa\u2019s been a breath of fresh air since joining at the end of the college season,\u201d said the Belfast-born Kane. \u201cHe has \u00a0great natural instincts in front of goal and it\u2019s exactly what we\u2019ve been crying out for. We dominate games in possession and haven\u2019t found potency in front of goal yet. There is real excitement he\u2019ll be that one for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0The excitement about DKB is palpable. He boasts an impressive scoring ratio \u2013 one that he hopes will take him all the way to Major League Soccer.<\/p>\n
Kinsella-Bishop, who\u2019s been shooting the lights out at most clubs that he\u2019s played for in his young career, landed States-side last August. He was armed with a bachelor\u2019s degree in English, his ample skills and big dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI came over to do a master\u2019s in business — to pursue my studies and then pursue my football,\u201d the 2024 University College Dublin graduate told the Echo. \u201cI’m hoping to become a professional soccer player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Five months later, Kinsella-Bishop is a graduate student in Molloy University\u2019s MBA program. And despite arriving from Ireland with a hamstring injury and missing the Long Island-based school\u2019s first five games in the NCAA\u2019s second division, he has established himself as the best striker at any level in U.S. college soccer.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI’m ranked #1 in the U.S. for goals-to-game average in both NCAA Division I and II,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, the ratio is 1.0. So, I played 13 games in total for Malloy From late September to early November — games came very fast — and I got 13 goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
His form has earned him the East Coast Conference [EEC] Offensive Player of the Year award in his rookie season \u2013 the first Molloy player to receive the honor in 16 years. The 5-foot-11 striker was also named to the All-East Region First Team in NCAA Division II, alongside players from France, Spain, Latvia and Japan.<\/p>\n
Bishop was equally prolific in Ireland, where he\u2019d turned out for Bray Wanderers after graduating from UCD — whose teams he\u2019d played for since age 16 — last December.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThey play in the League of Ireland as well, they\u2019re a famous club,\u201d he said of Wanderers. I actually have family ties there on my dad’s side, I think my granddad played for Bray at some stage decades and decades ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
He netted six goals and added a couple of assists during his short stint with the Seagulls, pulling his hamstring in his last game. He remembers his time in the little seaside town south of Dublin nostalgically.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig crowds, [nice] community, kids wanting your autograph. It was fantastic. [But], I just had to take this opportunity in the U.S. and leave them prematurely,\u201d he said. \u201cI had to make a life decision. If it was just football, I would have stayed there and played my heart out, but I needed to think big picture as well. And I wanted to try and make it in the U.S. soccer game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kinsella-Bishop had joined Bray Wanderers after seven years and some 120 League of Ireland games with UCD. Awarded a scholarship to study at UCD, he signed for the university\u2019s Under-17 LOI team at age 16 and made his first team debut in the LOI Premier Division against Cork City at age 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was only in the fifth year of secondary school at the time,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
\u00a0A highlight of his exploits then was scoring the League of Ireland Goal of the Month in October 2023 against Shelbourne in the Premier Division. It was a miraculous effort with his back to the goal. A cross came into the penalty box from the right. Bishop and a defender on his right both stuck out their feet, but it was the striker who made contact first, audaciously and deftly flicking the ball backwards before it hit the ground. It soared high in the air behind him, eluding the onrushing goalie at the far post and dropping into the net.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He’d strike against some of the other biggest clubs in the country in 2023. There\u2019d be goals against Bohemians at Dalymount Park on St Patrick\u2019s day, against Cork City at Turners Cross and against Shelbourne again at Tolka Park.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThese are all the biggest and most famous Irish soccer stadiums. I was very proud of those moments,\u201d said Kinsella-Bishop.<\/p>\n
\u00a0His goal now is to make it big States-side as a professional, with something to fall back on — his MBA \u2013 when his playing days over. Kinsella-Bishop has made a good start both with the Lansdowne and Molloy in the NCAA in his rookie season. The sky seems the limit for this high flyer.<\/p>\n
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