Winter 2006 • Volume 12, Issue 1
Former BU soccer stars excel in Major League Soccer
by David Driver
 Bryan Namoff ‘00, at left, was born in Carson City, Nevada, attended high school in Rockford, and played four years of men’s soccer at Bradley University from 1997-2000. So it was somewhat of a shock to his system when he was drafted by big-city and East Coast team D.C. United of Major League Soccer early in 2001.
“When I came out here in 2001, it was the first time I had been to D.C. Everything was very new and different to me,” said Namoff, sitting in the interview room underneath RFK Stadium in Washington after a practice session in August. “Four and a half years later, it has become home,” added Namoff, who lives just across the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia.
A lot of that stability is a result of his success on the field for United, the most decorated team in the league’s history. Namoff, a defender, played 2,384 minutes for the team in 2004, and that ranked second on the club. He had two assists, and his second of the season came in a 3-2 win in the regular-season finale against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. The win jumped D.C. over the MetroStars into second place in the division, and United won four straight playoff games to capture the MLS crown. Namoff played all 90 minutes in the MLS Cup final on November 14, 2004, in California, as D.C. beat Kansas City 3-2 for its fourth league title since 1996.
“It is always the goal of the team to one day hold that trophy up and get that championship ring,” Namoff said. “It was a pretty rocky year. It was a roller-coaster ride the middle of the season. No one really spoke of the championship.”
The Washington Post reported in January 2005 that Namoff signed a multi-year contract with United, which would give him a significant raise over his previous base salary of $27,780. He played in all but 14 minutes of United’s title run in 2004, according to the Post.
 Namoff was all-MVC first team, Bradley scholar athlete of the week three times, and ended his college career with 32 goals and 17 assists for 81 points, the second-most at Bradley at the time. He is one of several Bradley athletes to play in the MLS, which is loaded with players from such big-time Division I conferences as the Atlantic Coast.
“You have to give credit to the coach,” Namoff said of Jim DeRose and his staff. “We had a good unit of guys.” Other former Braves who played in MLS include Gavin Glinton ‘01 (now a Bradley assistant coach), top right, Luke Kreamalmeyer ‘06, who plays for Real Salt Lake, Hamid Mehreioskouei ‘04, who teaches and coaches in Schaumburg, and Tim Regan ‘04, top middle, who plays for the MetroStars, based in New York.
Regan was a defender/midfielder this past season for the MetroStars. He was a four-time all-conference player at Bradley, and made a school record of 83 starts by the time his college career was done. “Bradley was the perfect place to groom me for professional soccer, not because Bradley was a collegiate soccer powerhouse or a place where pro coaches would come watch me play, but because it was a place where I learned hard work was the only factor I could control in my soccer career,” said Regan. “Off the field, Coach DeRose expected us to perform in the classroom the same way he demanded us to perform on the soccer field. Each player represented the Bradley soccer family and respected that responsibility.”
Regan says his goal in MLS at this point is to follow the lead of former Bradley teammate Bryan Namoff and make a spot for himself in the lineup. “I’m realistic and understand that the turn-around in this league is massive, and even the best players get shipped around the league. I’m here to give my best and see what happens.”
Editor’s note: David Driver is a freelance writer from Maryland. This is his second article for Bradley Hilltopics.
Bryan Namoff photographs by Francis Gardler, Tim Regan photograph courtesy of MetroStars
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