The Swope Park Rangers have signed defender Tommy Meyer, the club announced today. Meyer is currently in Tucson, Arizona with Sporting KC and will link up with the Rangers at the start of the club’s preseason in February.
Meyer spent the last four seasons with the LA Galaxy after being drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, helping the side claim MLS Cup in his rookie year and again in 2014. The St. Louis native made 57 appearances for the Galaxy in all competitions after debuting in LA’s 2012 season opener against Real Salt Lake.
The 25-year-old scored his only goal for the club with the game-winner in a 4-0 win over the Puerto Rico Islanders in the 2012 CONCACAF Champions League. After making eight regular-season appearances for LA in 2012, Meyer started all six games in the MLS Cup Playoffs. He recorded an assist in the Galaxy’s second-leg comeback win over the San Jose Earthquakes in the Western Conference Semifinals, before anchoring the defense in the 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo to claim MLS Cup 2012.
Meyer set career-highs with 12 appearances and 10 starts in the 2014 regular season, before playing two further games in the MLS Cup Playoffs as LA beat New England in MLS Cup 2014. That season, the Galaxy were 9-2-3 in regular-season and postseason play when Meyer appeared, while he also helped his side to the joint-best defensive record in MLS with 37 goals against in 34 games.
Meyer arrives in Kansas City with USL experience, having made 12 appearances for LA Galaxy II over the course of 2014 and 2015. His most recent minutes came in the 2015 USL Playoffs, where he made four substitute appearances in Los Dos’ run to the USL Championship, eventually falling in overtime to the Rochester Rhinos.
In the summer of 2015, Meyer made two appearances for the Galaxy in the International Champions Cup, coming off the bench in a friendly game against Club America before scoring the Galaxy’s lone goal in a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.
Collegiately, Meyer made 81 appearances for Indiana University, recording 10 assists in that time. He was an All-Big Ten selection as a senior – tallying seven assists from the backline – having earned All-Big Ten second team honors the previous year. As a freshman, Meyer was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and the College Soccer News All-Freshman second team.
Meyer was a member of the U.S. Under-17 Residency Program in 2005 and 2006, while he made three appearances for the U.S. in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He then advanced on to play for the U.S. Under-20 team in 2008.
“I’m excited about a new opportunity and challenge with the Swope Park Rangers,” Meyer said. “I’m looking forward to getting together with the team and having a productive preseason to prepare us for a good start to the campaign.”
“It’s important for us to add some experience around our young players,” Swope Park Rangers head coach Marc Dos Santos said. “Tommy played some important games with LA and could provide us with the experience needed in our backline. He’s also at a good age, with great ambition and motivation so we’re happy to have him joining our club.”
VITALS
Tommy Meyer (my-er)
Position: Defender
Born: 3/20/90 (25 years old)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 175
College: Indiana University
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Citizenship: USA
Instagram: @thmeyer
