Nassau Teacher Named MLS Assistant Referee Of The Year

NEW HYDE PARK, NY — A New Hyde Park resident and Baldwin elementary school teacher has been named assistant referee of the year by Major League Soccer. Brian Dunn, 44, who has been assigned to MLS matches since 2012, was named the award-winner Tuesday.

His performance evaluation figures during the 2019 season ranked him among the top assistant referees, the league said in a news release. Dunn was named an assistant referee for the 2019 MLS All-Star game in Orlando and helped officiate at the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. He was assigned to 26 games this season and has tallied 135 games in his career.

Dunn won with 45 percent of the vote, leading second-place finisher Logan Brown by 12 percentage points.

Before joining MLS, Dunn refereed games between top-ranked college teams for nearly a decade. He's also been known to officiate youth soccer games at local parks and schools.

Dunn graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in math and a minor in secondary education. He later earned a master's degree in elementary education and went on to teach for Glen Cove schools, Great Neck schools and finally Baldwin schools. He currently teaches at Meadow Elementary School.

Candidates for referee of the year and assistant referee of the year were voted on by club technical staff, media and players.

Allen Chapman of Utah won this year's award for referee of the year, earning the title for the second time in three seasons.