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BY STEFAN BONDY | NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
http://nydn.us/1agBsMH
Nycfc Turns To Rival Red Bulls For Goalie Ryan Meara
After years of playing second fiddle to Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles, Ryan Meara gets another shot at a starting job with MLS expansion club NYCFC.
CHARLESTON, S.C. - New York City FC's goalkeeper is signed with the Red Bulls.
It's a strange concept to followers of traditional American professional sports, but Ryan Meara, the 24-year-old from Yonkers, was loaned across the Hudson River, from one MLS team to another. The agreement carries a couple of stipulations: He must return to the Red Bulls after this season, and, perhaps even more jolting to the assumptions of sports fans, he isn't allowed to play against the Red Bulls.
In the meantime, Meara is not suffering from an identity crisis.
"Honestly, I don't even think about it. I'm here. I'm happy to be here," Meara said. "I'm looking forward to the season. For me, I'm on NYCFC, simple as that."
Meara's intraleague loan is just the fourth of its kind in MLS since the rule was implemented in 2013. According to a league spokesman, such an agreement requires a clause that forbids the loaned player from competing against his former team - even in the playoffs.
Meara, however, wouldn't mind taking part in the first installments of the New York rivalry.
"It would be a little awkward to play against the team that holds my rights," he said. "But, of course, I'd like to play every game."
Meara joined NYCFC via trade in December, when the expansion team gave up midfielder Sal Zizzo (permanently) just to borrow the goalkeeper for a season. It made sense from both sides: After impressing as a rookie starter in 2012, Meara (pronounced "Mara") was the backup with the Red Bulls behind Luis Robles the past two years, hardly playing following a derailing hip injury. NYCFC needed a first-team keeper.
But as he was being groomed for the starting gig under coach Jason Kreis, Meara tore his left meniscus during the first preseason scrimmage in Jacksonville. The subsequent surgery to remove the ligament called for a recovery timetable of 4-to-6 weeks.
Meara, who has been staying in shape by running on the side of team practices, said he is a little ahead of schedule and hopes to return to training within two weeks. Kreis seemed more cautious.
"We brought him here to compete for the starting position. We didn't bring him here just to be a practice player so we'll continue along with that when he's healthy," the coach said. "So we just need to be patient and do the right thing and not push him."
Veteran Josh Saunders, only about 17 months removed from tearing his ACL, has assumed the starting role in front of the net, with credentials that include 20 shutouts in 56 MLS starts. But Meara is the hometown choice for the inaugural season in the Bronx.
He grew up about 15 minutes away from Yankee Stadium as the son of a Bronx firefighter. Meara also attended Fordham and nearly kept up a family tradition by becoming a firefighter - even enrolling for the FDNY exam - but he was drafted by the Red Bulls and went in a different direction.
NYCFC provides him a better opportunity, even if he is contractually not allowed to play at least three games this season.
"That's the tough part of being a goalkeeper - if the guy's doing good and he's healthy and the team's winning, you're never changing. So it was a little frustrating over there (with the Red Bulls) for me," Meara said. "But I like to think I grew a lot from it and hopefully now once my knee gets back to 100 percent, I'll be pushing for the starting spot."
l David Villa returned to the non-contact portions of practice Tuesday, but Kreis was not optimistic that his star striker would play Wednesday in the scrimmage against Houston.
"In my mind, I don't think we're going to play him at all," the coach said, adding that he was still had to discuss it with Villa and the trainer. "I'd prefer just to be safe and keep him out."
Kreis said he plans to overhaul the lineup versus Houston, hoping to get a 60-minute look at the reserves. The starters from Saturday's draw against Orlando, he said, would only play the final 30 minutes.
"This is part of the preparation the planning, the process right now - to be looking at everybody equally," he said.
Colombian midfielder Javier Calle, who is back training after recovering from a quad injury, is set to make his NYCFC debut Wednesday. However, Kreis said he will cap Calle at 30 minutes.
QUESTION: I don't remember seeing Ryan Meara #18 play in goal yet, has he played in a match yet? Because the other goalie Eirik Johansen #98 on loan from Manchester City is not up for the big leagues yet. I thinks he sucks no offense to him but he is not a good keeper, to slow and clumsy.
UPDATE: According to a team spokesperson, the Ryan Meara #18 suffered a torn meniscus, putting him out of action for “around six weeks.”
Without Ryan Meara, NYCFC will likely turn to MLS veteran Josh Saunders, a two-time MLS Cup winner who played under NYCFC boss Jason Kreis at Real Salt Lake. Also in the mix are former NASL standout keeper Akira Fitzgerald, and recent MLS Draft selection Andre Rawls.
We have not seen Andre Rawls in goal yet, curious to how well he will be.
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