Bryan Byrne (footballer)

Bryan Byrne (born 26 August 1982) is an Irish former professional footballer. He played in Europe and the United States.

Bryan Byrne
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-08-26) 26 August 1982
Place of birth Kilkenny, Ireland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Castle Villa
Colaiste Lorcain
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2006 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 77 (11)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Kildare County 7 (0)
2006 San Fernando Valley Quakes 4 (2)
2007 New England Revolution 1 (0)
2008–2009 Ventura County Fusion 22 (1)
Total 34 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life and education

Byrne was born on 26 August 1982, in Kilkenny, Ireland, and was raised in Castledermot.[1][2] He started his career at local club Castle Villa A.F.C., where he played from U-10's through U-18's.[3][4]

Byrne was signed by Dermot Keely to play senior level soccer for Kildare County F.C. for the 2002–03 season.[2] Byrne's stay was short, as Keely's son, Alan Keely, was returning from playing college soccer in Santa Barbara and Dermot recommended Byrne as a player to target.[5] He appeared 7 total times for the club.[6]

Byrne and the 2006 UCSB Gauchos soccer team honored at the White House.

Byrne moved to the US and enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a student-athlete for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team. He appeared in 77 games for UCSB throughout his four-year career, scoring 11 goals and assisting on 19 others.[7][8][9][10] Byrne and UCSB won the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship and he was selected to the all-College Cup team.[11]

While enrolled at UCSB, Byrne also played with San Fernando Valley Quakes of the USL Premier Development League, scoring two goals in four appearances.[12]

Playing career

Byrne was drafted in the third round (38th overall) of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution and manager Steve Nicol, a former Liverpool player.[13] There had been talk before the draft that Byrne would be drafted and sign with Los Angeles Galaxy, but a disagreement over his playing position and the signing of David Beckham resulted in the team passing on him.[5][14]

Byrne signed a contract with the Revolution in April 2007, after the Revolution cleared roster space by waiving former UCSB teammate Tony Lochhead.[15] He would mainly feature for the New England Reserves team, but made his MLS debut against Real Salt Lake on 2 June 2007.[16]

Byrne left New England Revolution at the end of the year and subsequently signed for Ventura County Fusion. Byrne went on to play two seasons with Fusion, helping them to the USL Premier Development League championship in 2009. He was released by Fusion at the end of 2009 as a result of the PDL's age restrictions.[17][18]

Post-professional career

Byrne has appeared for a number of amateur teams including Hollywood United F.C., Los Angeles Celtic, and Doxa Italia.[5][19][20] Byrne was Doxa Italia's first ever goal scorer in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup.[21]

Byrne owns and runs a website where he talks about soccer cleats, SoccerCleats101.[5]

Honors

Ventura County Fusion

UC Santa Barbara

References
  1. "Bryan Byrne Player Profile – ESPN FC". ESPN FC. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. "Bryan makes it Major". Kildare County F.C. 16 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  3. McNally, Ger (11 December 2012). "Jordan walks on water in a season to remember". Kildare Nationalist. County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. "Bryan Byrne player profile – UCSB". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Archived from the original on 7 February 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. "Boxing Title And Grand Slam Inspire All: Castledermot's Byrne A Role Model". www.IrishExaminerUSA.com. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  6. "Player Statistics 02/03". Kildare County F.C. Archived from the original on 9 April 2003. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  7. "2003 Final Overall Statistics". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 14 June 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  8. "2004 UC Santa Barbara Overall Individual Statistics". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 14 December 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  9. "2005 UC Santa Barbara Overall Individual Statistics". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 23 November 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  10. "2006 UC Santa Barbara Overall Individual Statistics". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. 3 December 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  11. "UC Santa Barbara emerges to claim first Men's College Cup". National Collegiate Athletic Association. 18 December 2006. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  12. "2006 San Fernando Valley Quakes stats". United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on 30 November 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  13. Hoffman, Chris (23 January 2007). "Let the Revolution Begin". Daily Nexus. Santa Barbara, California. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  14. Becker, Byrne V. (24 January 2007). "Update on Bryan Byrne experience in the US". The Nationalist. Carlow, Republic of Ireland. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  15. "Scoreboard: Transactions". The Index-Journal. Greenville, South Carolina. 14 April 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  16. "New England Revolution 0, Real Salt Lake 0". New England Revolution. 2 June 2007. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  17. "2008 Ventura County Fusion stats". United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  18. "2009 Ventura County Fusion stats". United Soccer Leagues. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  19. "LA Premier League : Celtic FC". LAPremierLeague.com. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  20. "2010–11 Doxa Italia roster". CoastSoccer.org. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  21. Curley, Joe (14 June 2011). "Fusion fight back for win". Ventura County Star. Camarillo, California. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
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