American forward Conor Casey, 25, who has been in Germany since 2001, is reportedly leaving First Division club Mainz for MLS.
Casey left the University of Portland after his sophomore year in 2000 to sign with First Division club Borussia Dortmund, for whose reserve team he played for in the Third and Fourth divisions before being loaned to Second Division Hannover 96. Casey scored seven goals in 19 games as Hannover ran away with the Second Division title in 2001-02. He played four games and scored once for Hannover in the 2002-03 First Division season before moving to Second Division Karlsruhe, for which he had his most productive season, scoring 14 goals and finishing fourth among Second Division leading scorers.
Casey then moved to Mainz of the First Division but continued being plagued by knee injuries. In two and a half seasons, he played 40 games for Mainz, scoring three goals. He appeared in two games this season.