College and amateur
Bunbury's first club was Apple Valley Juventus, [5] followed by college soccer at the University of Akron. He made a total of 35 starts and appeared in 48 games with the Zips during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. In his first season, he made 23 appearances, starting ten games and scoring six goals, a total second only to future SuperDraft pick Steve Zakuani, who led the NCAA in scoring with 20. [6]
After Steve Zakuani was selected first overall in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Bunbury began to shine for Akron. As a sophomore, he started all 25 games for the Zips, including the 2009 Division I Men's College Cup final. [7] Bunbury led the team and the nation in goals, scoring 17 during the year, led the team in shots (103) and tied with fellow forward, Darlington Nagbe, in game-winning goals (5). Bunbury earned many accolades during the 2009 season, including the Mid-American Conference's Player of the Week award three times and same award by College Soccer News, once. He was also named to Top Drawer Soccer's national Team of the Week during the season. At the end of the season he was named as the winner of the 2009 Hermann Trophy Award, honoring the best player in college soccer.
During his college years Bunbury also played with the Rochester Thunder in the USL Premier Development League [8] and the Chicago Fire Premier in the USL Super-20 League.
Professional
After two years with the Zips, Bunbury decided to forgo the remainder of his collegiate career and signed with Generation adidas. [9] He was drafted in the first round (4th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Kansas City Wizards. [10]
He made his professional debut on March 27 in Kansas City's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against D.C. United, [11] and scored his first professional goal on April 13 in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game against the Colorado Rapids. He was handed a start on his first game in Canada versus Toronto FC and was subbed off in the 58th minute. He scored his first MLS goal in a 1–0 victory over Columbus Crew on July 14.
In December 2010, Bunbury joined English Premier League side Stoke City on trial and scored in a reserve match against Wigan Athletic. [12]
In August 2012, he suffered a torn ACL during a match against New York Red Bulls, which kept him off the field for 10 months. [13]
In February 2014, Bunbury was traded to the New England Revolution for a first round 2015 MLS SuperDraft pick and allocation money. [14] Bunbury became a major contributor to New England's run to the 2014 MLS Cup Final, scoring from long distance in the Eastern Conference final against Red Bull New York. [15] New England fell to LA Galaxy 2–1 final after extra time, with Bunbury's potential game-winning shot bouncing off the crossbar in the 85th minute.
Bunbury helped lead the Revs to the 2016 U.S. Open Cup Final, scoring twice against the New York Cosmos in the Round of 16 and adding the third goal in a 3–1 victory over the Chicago Fire in the semifinals. Bunbury assisted on Juan Agudelo's second goal in the final, but the Revs eventually fell to FC Dallas 4–2. [16]
In 2018, Bunbury tallied 11 goals for the Revs, reaching double-digit league goals in one season for the first time in his career. [17]
Bunbury was New England's leading scorer during the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLS Season. He was also named the club's Humanitarian of the Year. [18]
On December 12, 2021, Bunbury was traded to Nashville SC for up to $150,000 in allocation money. [19]
