Dennis Mepham is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, American Soccer League,

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League

Youth

Mepham attended Brighton High School where he was an outstanding basketball and soccer player. He then attended

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, where he played basketball for two years and soccer for four. When he graduated, he held the team record for both career and single season scoring with 25 and 11 goals respectively. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1980 and was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

Professional

The Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League drafted Mepham in 1980. The Lancers folded at the end of the season and he signed with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League in the fall of 1980. He returned to the outdoor game in 1981 with the Rochester Flash of American Soccer League. That season, he was a first team All Star. He continued to play for the Flash through the 1983 season. At the end of the season, both the Flash and the league collapsed. In 1984, he played for the Buffalo Storm of the

. In August 1984, the Stallions sold Mepham's contract to the Cleveland Force. He was a regular with the Force until the 1987-1988 season when he suffered from a hairline fracture to his leg bone. In June 1988, the Force released Mepham after he refused to take a 25% reduction in pay. Mepham then went into the real estate business in Cleveland. In the summer of 1989, he signed with the expansion

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

. The Crunch released Mepham in June 1990.''FOUR CRUNCH PLAYERS TURN INTO FREE AGENTS'' Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - Wednesday, June 20, 1990 He retired from playing professionally that summer.

Yearly Awards

*1981 ASL All-Star Team *1983 MISL All-Star Team

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mepham, Dennis 1958 births American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Buffalo Stallions players Buffalo Storm players Bowling Green Falcons men's soccer players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Cleveland Crunch (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Rochester Lancers (1967–1980) players Rochester Flash players United Soccer League (1984–85) players Living people Association football defenders Soccer players from New York (state) Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players