Thomas Liam McNamara (born February 6, 1991) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

Early career

Thomas McNamara was born in West Nyack, NY. McNamara played high school soccer at

Don Bosco Prep Don Bosco Preparatory High School (Don Bosco Prep) is a private, all-boys Catholic high school from ninth through twelfth grades. Founded in 1915 as a boarding school for Polish boys, by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious community of pri ...

in Ramsey, NJ, and played club soccer for FC Westchester. McNamara played college soccer at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

for four years before spending a fifth year playing college soccer for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

in 2013. He was a First Team All-Ivy selection as a senior and finished his career at Brown with 12 goals and 10 assists. He scored seven goals while recording eight assists in his final season of college soccer at Clemson. He is only the second Clemson soccer player to be named an All-American both on and off the field in the same season. In 2013, he was named Second Team All-American by the NSCAA and a First Team Academic All-American. McNamara is the first Clemson soccer player selected to the Capital One Academic First Team since 1987 when Jamey Rootes was selected. Rootes is currently the President of the NFL's Houston Texans.He also played in the

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will feature ...

with the

Jersey Express The Jersey Express are a basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. The team competes in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the Black Division of the East Region. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express, and ...

in 2013.

Chivas USA

McNamara was drafted first in the second round of the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Rounds three ...

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

, and was officially signed on February 14, 2014. He made his professional debut for the team on March 9, 2014, against the Chicago Fire in which he also scored his first professional goal in the 60th minute on the way to a 3–2 opening day victory. On April 12, McNamara tore the ACL in his right knee, requiring him to undergo surgery to repair his ACL.

New York City FC

After the contraction of

following the

2014 Major League Soccer season The 2014 Major League Soccer season was the 19th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 102nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 36th with a national first-division league. The regular season began on Marc ...

, McNamara was selected by

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

in the 2014 MLS Dispersal Draft. Leading up to the 2015

Expansion of Major League Soccer Major League Soccer is the top level of professional soccer in the United States. It began play in 1996 with 10 teams and has expanded several times since 1998. From 2005 to 2025, the league expanded rapidly and has added an average of one new te ...

Draft, McNamara was left unprotected by D.C. United.

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

selected him with their eighth pick in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft. McNamara scored his first goal for New York City FC on June 6, 2015, against the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. The goal, scored from about 25 yards out, was awarded MLS goal of the week honors. This right-footed curling shot into the top corner has become a signature of McNamara's, as he has scored near identical goals from similar areas of the pitch against Chicago Fire,

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

, and Colorado Rapids.

Houston Dynamo

McNamara was selected by

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

in the second-round of the

2018 MLS Re-Entry Draft The 2018 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 14, 2018 (Stage 1) and December 20, 2018 (Stage 2). All 24 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the MLS Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of finish in 20 ...

on December 20, 2018. He signed with the Dynamo on January 11, 2019 He made his Dynamo debut on February 19, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win over C.D. Guastatoya in a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

match. McNamara scored his first goal for Houston on May 18 in a 2–1 win over

. On July 20, he scored a goal and had an assist as the Dynamo defeated

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

3–1. McNamara would return to NYCFC on August 8 and would mark the occasion by picking up his second assist of the season. However, the Dynamo would lose by a score of 3–2. McNamara would lead the team with 39 appearances across all competitions, and finished the year with 2 goals and 3 assists. It was a poor season for Houston as a team, finishing 10th in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs. McNamara started the first two games of the 2020 season before the season was paused due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The league returned to play in July with the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League ...

, where McNamara made a substitute appearance in 2 of Houston's 3 games.

New England Revolution

On August 17, 2020, McNamara acquired by New England via trade with Houston on Aug. 17, 2020. He re-signed with the Revolution on December 22. New England declined McNamara's contract option following their 2024 season.

International career

McNamara is an American and Irish passport holder, as his paternal grandfather was born in Ireland. He has expressed interest in playing for either national team.

Career statistics

Honors

New England Revolution *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Individual * NYCFC Etihad Player of the month June 2015 * NYCFC Etihad Player of the month March 2016 *

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Goal of the Week: 2015 Week 14 *

Goal of the Week: 2016 Week 4

References

External links

*
Profile at NYCFC
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Tommy 1991 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Brown Bears men's soccer players Chivas USA draft picks Chivas USA players Clemson Tigers men's soccer players Don Bosco Preparatory High School alumni Houston Dynamo FC players Jersey Express S.C. players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players New England Revolution players New England Revolution II players New York City FC players People from West Nyack, New York Sportspeople from Rockland County, New York Soccer players from New York (state) USL Championship players USL League Two players Western Mass Pioneers players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players Worcester Hydra players 21st-century American sportsmen