Jason Kreis

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Jason Kreis
Personal information
Full name Jason Kreis
Date of birth December 29, 1972 (1972-12-29) (age 35)
Place of birth    Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position Midfield/Forward
Club information
Current club Real Salt Lake (Manager)
Youth clubs
1991-94 Duke
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1994-1996
1996-2004
2005-07
Raleigh Flyers
Dallas Burn
Real Salt Lake

247 (91)
058 (17)   
National team2
1996-1999 United States 014 0(1)
Teams managed
2007- Real Salt Lake

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 3 May 2007.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 27 July 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Jason Kreis (born December 29, 1972 in Omaha, Nebraska) is a former American soccer forward, and is currently the second highest scorer in Major League Soccer regular-season history. He is the current head coach of Real Salt Lake.

After starting every game at Duke University, Kreis played with the now-defunct Raleigh Flyers of the USISL and was drafted 43rd overall by the Dallas Burn (now F.C. Dallas) 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 89th league goal against DC United, moving past Roy Lassiter to the top of the all-time goalscoring chart. Kreis remianed 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.

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.

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.

On May 3, 2007, Kreis was announced as the new head coach of Real Salt Lake, retiring as a player and taking over the coaching reins from John Ellinger.

In his spare time, Kreis enjoys carpentry and spending time with his wife and children. Jason and his wife, Kim, are from Mandeville, LA where he led Mandeville High School to several Class 5A state soccer titles. While at Mandeville HS, 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 also won the prestigous Capital Cup tournament in Washington, D.C..

[edit] See also

Preceded by
Marco Etcheverry
Major League Soccer MVP Award
1999
Succeeded by
Tony Meola