Ex-Rebel makes MLS impact

Lamar Neagle loved playing soccer. And he was pretty good at it, a three-year starter on his high school team that won a state title his senior year.

But when Neagle graduated from Thomas Jefferson High in suburban Seattle in 2005, he had no college offers. Instead of finding a job, though, he walked on at UNLV.

That decision paved the way for a professional career in the sport. Neagle had a stellar career with the Rebels before landing a job in Major League Soccer, first with the Seattle Sounders and now with the expansion Montreal Impact, for whom he has a goal and two assists in 17 matches this season.

"It's funny how things work out," Neagle, 25, said this week from Canada. "If I don't go to UNLV, who knows what I would have done with my life? I'd probably be at Boeing building airplanes."

Neagle was living in Federal Way, Wash., located between Seattle and Tacoma, and like many kids in that soccer hotbed had dreamed of playing the game for a living.

But no one was beating down his door looking for an outside midfielder willing to do the dirty work. So he was ready to give up the game when his best friend, Brandon Sprague, told him about UNLV.

Sprague had been recruited by Barry Barto, then the Rebels' coach, and was going to be a freshman for UNLV in 2005. Sprague told Barto about Neagle, but Barto didn't have a scholarship to offer.

But he remembered watching Neagle in a club tournament a couple of years before in San Diego and liked his energy and skill. If Neagle was willing, Barto said he could walk on.

"He was a quality kid, a nice kid," Barto said. "He reminded me of Danny Barber (former UNLV soccer player). He was very fast and could outrun and outwork people. And he was a good student."

Neagle took Barto up on his offer. And when he was through, in 2008, he was ninth on the Rebels' career scoring list with 27 goals and was a three-time first-team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation selection. He also helped start the rebuilding process of UNLV soccer by remaining at the school when Mario Sanchez replaced Barto in 2006.

"I figured I had nothing to lose," Neagle said. "Nobody in my family had gone to college, so I wasn't sure about the whole recruiting process. But it taught me to adapt and to grow up and fend for myself."

When Sanchez replaced Barto before Neagle's sophomore season, he briefly thought about transferring. But after talking to Sanchez and realizing he had a good opportunity to play, Neagle stayed.

"I didn't want to lose him," said Sanchez, now the associate head coach at Louisville. "I could tell he had ability, and he was just starting to get comfortable playing at that level. Plus, he was a good teammate. Everyone liked him. So when Lamar decided he was staying, I was very happy."

Said Neagle: "I had worked so hard just to get to that point. And I really liked UNLV. I didn't want to go somewhere else and prove myself all over again. And I believed Mario was going to give me a fair chance, which he did."

Neagle said his first year with the Impact (10-13-3) is reminiscent of his college days. "We struggled early, then we had some success," he said, "and we're trying to build on it now.

"It's totally different from anything I've ever experienced. I'm trying to learn to speak French, but it's a struggle. You're constantly having to prove yourself to get onto the field. But when I look back on my time at UNLV, it definitely helped prepare me for MLS."

Said Impact coach Jesse Marsch: "Lamar has fit into our group very well, and we feel he has a big future with our club. I know he would like to be playing more, but he has pushed himself and shown great professionalism on and off the field. He will only get better in the months and years to come."

Neagle, who was traded to Montreal from Seattle in February after scoring seven goals for the Sounders in 2011, feels the same way. "I'm enjoying it here," he said. "It's a great city with great fans. I'm getting to live my dream, and I hope I can be here for a long time."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.