The Chronicle
When Jason Kreis scored his 89th career goal and broke the all-time scoring record in Major League Soccer history, the former Duke All-American and current Dallas Burn forward had mixed emotions. On the one hand Kreis was at an all-time high because he had reached the pinnacle of his career; on the other hand, Kreis realized that the league is only eight years old, and that it is only a matter of time before someone else breaks his mark.
“I had lots of feelings,” Kreis said. “It was something I had been waiting a long time to do. I was getting close when I tore my ACL last year and had to wait a long time to accomplish the feat, but I never thought it was that big a deal. It’s a temporary record, somebody will break it eventually.”
Born in Louisiana and raised in Nebraska, Kreis was not exactly in the spotlight coming out of high school, let alone on the top of every coach’s recruiting list. For that Kreis is still grateful that head coach John Rennie gave him the opportunity.
“Coach Rennie really found me,” Kreis said. “It was a real leap of faith for him to take me in. If not for Coach Rennie I would not have had a prestigious school like Duke at which to play.”
The feelings are clearly mutual, as Rennie glowed when he described the three-time All-American.
“Jason Kreis was a very quiet player on the field,” Rennie said. “Nobody ever at Duke worked harder on his game, on his own, than Jason Kreis. By the end of his career it was like he was doing whatever he wanted to do on the field, and he’s one of the best players that we’ve ever had.”
Under Rennie, Kreis played for the Blue Devils from 1991 to 1994, scoring 39 goals while tallying 38 assists. Memories of his days at Duke remain vivid in his mind.
“My best memories are of just surviving sophomore year when we went to the Final Four,” Kreis said with a laugh. “I just remember always hanging out with the guys on the team and having a great time.”
Although Kreis has been a perennial all-star in the top American soccer league over the past eight years, he has not been able to equal that success with the more prestigious U.S. National Team. Kreis has scored only one goal playing in 14 contests, low numbers for a player of his caliber.
“It’s a matter of timing,” Kreis said in an interview with mlsnet.com. “It’s a matter of me not having one specific thing that you could point to and say, ‘Oh, this guy is excellent at this.’ I’m not the biggest forward, I’m not the fastest forward [and] I’m not the best at running at players.”
At the age of 31, and only one year removed from knee surgery and countless hours of rehabilitation, the father of two realizes that his time as a player is coming to a close. Kreis insisted, however, that his soccer career was by no means nearing its end.
Now a decade removed from his Duke career, Kreis does not maintain any contact with the current Blue Devils, a relationship he regrets not fostering after his college career. Now that Kreis has an eye on the future, he is considering reopening the lines of communication and is strongly thinking about entering the coaching ranks.
Rennie believes that if anyone has what it takes to be a successful coach, it is Kreis.
“Yes, he’d make a great coach,” Rennie said. “One of the things he did very well as a player was deal with the personalities on the team in a very positive way. He could deal with a hard worker and he wasn’t afraid to push somebody.”
Near the top the scoring charts from the league’s inception, Kreis has been the face of the Dallas Burn and a pioneer for the league. When his playing days are over, don’t be surprised to see Kreis continue to remain in the spotlight.
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