[MLS PLAYER SPOTLIGHT] Tim Ream followed in a long tradition of soccer All-Americans at Saint Louis University when his 2009 All-American honor was the 75th in Billiken history. But few would have figured him to have had a bigger impact than any other rookie over the first two weeks of the MLS season.

Taken with the No. 18 pick in the 2010 SuperDraft, Ream helped the New York Red Bulls sweep their first two games with 1-0 shutouts over Chicago and Seattle, both 2009 playoff teams.

In contrast to Philadelphia rookie Toni Stahl, who got himself sent off in the first half of his debut game against Seattle, Ream helped shut down Sounders star Freddie Ljungberg without resorting to the fouling that got Stahl in trouble and set off a war of words between Union coach Peter Nowak and Ljungberg.

In Ream's first game, he helped shutout another SLU alum, Brian McBride.

Ream is playing alongside veteran Mike Petke in the middle of New York backline. To their right is second-year pro Jeremy Hall and to their left is Costa Rican Roy Miller, acquired from Norway's Rosenborg in the offseason.