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HANOVER, N.J. — The life of a Major League Soccer backup goalkeeper isn’t the most glamorous.
During the week, you train alongside the starter, getting the same reps, doing the same drills. But on game day, while the starter stands between the posts with the supporters behind him, the backup goes to the bench and is largely a spectator.
That has been Ryan Meara’s reality with the New York Red Bulls since Luis Robles started a remarkable MLS-record run of 183 consecutive regular season starts — 201 including playoffs — in September 2012.
For the first half of that 2012 season, Meara’s rookie year in MLS, the native of Crestwood, N.Y., was the Red Bulls’ starter. He made 18 consecutive starts until being sidelined by a hip injury in July. Surgery was needed and his season was over.
Meara’s next MLS start, strangely enough, came for New York City FC on April 24, 2015 as part of a season-long loan.
Back with the Red Bulls in 2016, Meara lived that anonymous life of the backup. In fact, he’s embraced that role.
“You can look at everything in life in two ways: you can be miserable because you’re on the bench, and just walk through training and get out of here as soon as it’s over,” he said. “But I try to enjoy everything, because at the end of the day, yeah, I would love to be the starter, but you still get to show up and play soccer for a living. It can always be a lot worse.”
Meara’s game action in 2016 came with Red Bulls II, where he helped lead them to the USL Cup Final, captaining the squad in its 5-1 win over Swope Park Rangers.
“The way he took on that responsibility of being a leader in that group was a really good thing for him in so many ways,” Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said.
In 2017, Meara was in net for the Red Bulls’ run to the U.S. Open Cup final, where they lost to Sporting Kansas City.
A week ago, Meara worked with Red Bulls goalkeeping coach Preston Burpo, the same way he does every single week, getting the same reps, doing the same drills. But when Robles was ruled out with a knee injury, there was Meara, back in net for an MLS game.
Of course, it wasn’t just any MLS game. It was Atlanta United … at Mercedes-Benz Stadium … on national television.
“It’s getting thrown right in the deep end, but at the same time, that’s an awesome game to get the call to play,” Meara said. “In the buildup, I think before every game you get a couple of nerves, but for me it was mostly excitement, ready to go. I just wanted to help the team get a result, and luckily it worked out that way.”
Meara was instrumental in that 3-1 win. After confidently coming off his line to snag an early cross, he made a pair of massive saves, diving to his right to parry away a Miguel Almiron shot in the 21st minute and denying a charging Josef Martinez three minutes later.
While fans were left shaking their heads, Meara’s teammates weren’t surprised by his performance.
“He’s here every day and we know what he’s capable of,” defender Tim Parker said. “Some people don’t really get to see that as much as we do, but we knew we were confident in him and what he was able to do and I think he showed not only us that he’s able to step in, but obviously the fans and the rest of the league as well.”
With Robles listed as “week-to-week” Meara will get at least another start — at home Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.
After that, he’ll go back to work at the Red Bulls training facility, working with Burpo and Robles when he’s ready. He’ll return to the bench when Robles regains full health and to the anonymity of being the backup goalkeeper.
But Meara will do it with a smile, with a positive mindset. His job is playing soccer. As he said, it could be worse.
“It speaks volumes to his mentality,” Marsch said, “how he’s grown, how he’s trusted us and how he’s believed in what we were trying to do here and how he’s committed to it fully and considered ways to get better every day.”