Long Island’s Brian Dunn Honored as AR of the Year
New York Soccer News: It’s been a very good year for Brian Dunn
Happy Birthday to Brian Dunn, whose big day is October 18 and who has just been selected by Major League Soccer (MLS) as the Assistant Referee of the Year. Allen Chapman was named MLS Referee of the Year.
Nominated by US Soccer, the Canadian Soccer Association and the MLS Competition Committee, candidates for MLS Referee of the Year and Assistant Referee of the Year were voted on by MLS club management, media and MLS players.
“I was excited when I heard that I was nominated for this award. When I found out that I won, I was overwhelmed with excitement not only for myself but my family, friends and Eastern New York,“ Brian stated.
“It is an honor to be able to ref at the highest level, be recognized for the good work and be able to represent our state, who helped me from the beginning of my career to where I am today.”
Dunn received 45.21% of the votes, besting the two other finalists, Logan Brown and Brian Poeschel.
“I’m delighted that the consistently high levels of performance produced by both Allen Chapman and Brian Dunn throughout the season have been recognized in this way. Both are extremely talented and dedicated officials, and they are very deserving of their respective Referee and Assistant Referee of the Year honors,” PRO General Manager Howard Webb said in a statement.
“The outstanding work of Allen and Brian throughout 2019 is a reflection of the increasingly high standards we set each year at the Professional Referee Organization, as our talented pool of match officials continues to get stronger.”
It’s been a whirlwind past three months for Brian as he was selected to officiate the MLS All-Star Game in Orlando as assistant referee, also assigned as fifth official for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final in Atlanta and honored by the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) as our September Personality of the Month. He has worked 135 MLS matches.
Brian grew up playing in the Long Island Junior Soccer League (LIJSL) for the Glen Cove Soccer Club (from Under-10 to Under-14) and for the Elmont Soccer Club (Under-16).
As 16-year-old teenager, he started playing against men in the Long Island Soccer Football League (LISFL) for Polonez and Forest Park. Brian played in midfield and also as a defender and goalkeeper. He also was in midfield and on defense for Hofstra University from 1992 to ’96.
When the New Hyde Park resident is not officiating MLS, college or high school games, he can be found giving back to the game by refereeing LIJSL matches. And all this soccer is in addition to being a Math AIS (Academic Intervention Services) teacher in the Baldwin Union Free School District for over 20 years.
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association: With 100,000 youth soccer players–both boys and girls–and more than 25,000 volunteers, the non-profit Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association (ENYYSA) reaches from Montauk Point, Long Island to the Canadian border. Members are affiliated with nine leagues throughout the association, which covers the entire state of New York east of Route 81. ENYYSA exists to promote and enhance the game of soccer for children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 19 years old and to encourage the healthy development of youth players, coaches, referees, and administrators.
