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Jason Kreis

Personal information
Full name	Jason Kreis
Date of birth	December 29, 1972 (1972-12-29) (age 37)
Place of birth	Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Midfielder/Forward
Club information
Current club	Real Salt Lake (head coach)
Youth career
1991–1994	Duke Blue Devils
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1994–1996	Raleigh Flyers
1996–2004	Dallas Burn	247	(91)
2005–2007	Real Salt Lake	58	(17)
Total		305	(108)
National team
1996–1999	United States	14	(1)
Teams managed
2007–	Real Salt Lake
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Jason Kreis (born December 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer.

Kreis spent the majority of his playing career in MLS in the United States, initially with Dallas Burn, and then with Real Salt Lake. In total he made over 300 professional appearances, was Major League Soccer MVP in 1999, and is currently the third highest scorer in MLS regular season history. He also earned fourteen caps with the United States national team.

Early Life

Kreis played for the Gladiator Soccer Club in his hometown of Omaha, where his parents were among the pioneers who established this first premier/select club within the state. As a freshman at Burke High School in Omaha, Kreis was selected First Team All-State and he remains the only freshman to have been so honored. Following his freshman year, Kreis and his family moved to Mandeville, Louisiana, where he led Mandeville High School to several Class 5A state soccer tournaments, but never won a state title, losing to Lafayette High in the quarter finals in his senior year. While at Mandeville High School, he was also a standout performer for the Baton Rouge United Jags, a U-19 Select team that finished as national runner-up in 1991 and won the prestigious Capital Cup tournament in Washington, D.C.

Playing career

Dallas Burn

After starting every game at Duke University, Kreis played with the now-defunct Raleigh Flyers of the USISL and was drafted forty-third overall by the Dallas Burn in the fifth round of the MLS Inaugural Draft. He scored the first goal in Burn history. In 1999, Kreis was the first American-born player to be named league MVP after he led the league in points and goals, and also registered the first 15-goal, 15-assist season in league history. The five-time all-star led his team in goals five times and in points four times.

On June 26, 2004, Kreis scored his eighty-ninth league goal against DC United, moving past Roy Lassiter to the top of the all-time goalscoring chart. Kreis remained the all time goalscoring leader for more than three years until Jaime Moreno surpassed his record on August 22, 2007. He ended his ninth MLS season with career totals of 91 goals and 65 assists for 247 points, plus added four goals and two assists in the playoffs.

Real Salt Lake

On November 17, 2004, Kreis was traded to Real Salt Lake, becoming the first player in the club's history. He left Dallas as the franchise's all-time leader in games played (247), goals (91), assists (65), and points (247). Kreis scored the first goal in Salt Lake's history in its second match, a 3–1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. In doing so, he became the first player in league history to do so for two different teams, as he scored the inaugural goal for Dallas in 1996 as well. On August 13, 2005, he became the first player in MLS history to score 100 career league goals.

International

Kreis was never able to translate his club success into one with the U.S. national team, scoring just one goal in 14 caps. He received his first cap on August 30, 1996, against El Salvador.

Coaching career

On May 3, 2007, Kreis retired from professional competition, and was announced as the new head coach of Real Salt Lake, retiring as a player and taking over the coaching reins from John Ellinger;^[1] at the time of his hire, Kreis became the youngest active head coach in MLS at 34 years and 127 days. He led Salt Lake to its first-post season playoff appearance in 2008 and in 2009 he coached the team to its first MLS Cup championship. He is the youngest coach in MLS history to win the MLS Cup.

Career statistics

[1]

See also

• List of current MLS coaches

References

External links

• MLS player profile