The whirlwind trip to South Africa left Tim Ream in a bit of a daze, a good daze. He was back at home in Hoboken, N.J., seven days after departing Kennedy Airport with members of the U.S. national team, destined for a friendly against Bafana Bafana in Cape Town last Wednesday. 'It's still kind of hard to just wrap my head around it,' Ream, a rookie defender for the Red Bulls, said in a telephone interview only hours after arriving home. 'I don't know whether to sit back and relax or what. I got my first camp and start, which I didn't expect to happen at all. A great experience.' Ream made his first international appearance when coach Bob Bradley opted to take an inexperienced team to play in the Nelson Mandela Challenge. The starting lineup averaged 10 1/2 appearances a player, After halftime, four of the six substitutes for the United States were 20 years old or younger and making their international debuts. United States closed out its 2010 schedule with a 1-0 victory, courtesy of another Red Bulls rookie, striker Juan Agudelo. The Major League Soccer season was a breakout one for Ream, a 23-year-old native of St. Louis who played every minute (2,700) of every league game for the Red Bulls this season. What is even more impressive is that Ream, a steady, heady and skillful defender, never played in the Olympic Development Program or for any U.S. youth international team. 'Coming into the season, I was that guy nobody had heard of,' Ream said. 'It's hard for me when I look at guys like Agudelo, who came up through the youth system and where he's at. For me to be called into the national team pool after having never played ODP or been in the youth system is special to me. It tells me that all my hard work and dedication has paid off. 'I wasn't just glad to be there. To be able to train in front of the coaches and just to know that you're being watched is something. All of the new guys had a feeling that we were going to play. It was great to be in the camp just to see how things are done.' In the game, Ream teamed handily in the center of the defense with Clarence Goodson, the towering center back who recently completed a transfer from IK Start in Norway to Brondby Denmark. Ream played 67 minutes before yielding to Nat Borchers. The United States opens its schedule in 2011 (a year that includes the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the winner advancing to the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil) with a game against Chile in January. 'Just from seeing how the coaches approach the game, I want to be back in there in that January camp or whenever,' Ream said. 'I want to have another chance to play and show what I can do on the international level.' He added: 'They sat down with everybody individually and said they would be in contact. If I get another call, in January, I'll jump at the opportunity. If not, I'll just keep working.' Perhaps the most poignant moments of the trip came the day after the game in Johannesburg when the players and officials from the South African and American teams met Nelson Mandela, South Africa's former president and an international symbol of the fight against apartheid. 'The trip was a real eye-opener,' Ream said. 'We really weren't allowed out on our own, but driving down the highway seeing kids in their bare feet kicking a ball around, it wasn't Hollywood, it was real life. Then to meet Nelson Mandela, it was impressive. Not a lot of people get to shake hands with Mandela. He's in a frail state, but he still smiled, said hello and thanked us for coming to play. When I think about what he's meant to his country and the world, it's not too often you get to meet someone of that caliber.' NOTES The Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez has been suspended for two Dutch league matches by Ajax because he bit the shoulder of PSV's Otman Bakkal during a 0-0 tie on Saturday. Suarez, who is the Ajax captain, will, however, be permitted to play in Tuesday's Champions League game in Amsterdam against visiting Real Madrid. Four college soccer tournaments -- men's and women's Division II and III -- have moved to the semifinal stages. In men's Division II, Dowling (12-1-6) of Long Island plays Northern Kentucky (18-2-3) and Rollins (14-3-3) plays Midwestern St. (19 2) in Louisville, Ky., on Dec. 2. In men's Division III, Bowdoin (15-1-4) faces Lynchburg (19-4-1) and Messiah (21-1) plays Wisconsin-Oskosh (20 3) in San Antonio on Dec. 3. In women's Division II, Grand Valley St. (20-1-2) plays Florida Tech (10-6-5) and UC San Diego (18-2-3) plays St. Rose (23 1) in Louisville on Dec. 2. And in women's Division III, Hardin-Simmons (23-0) plays Otterbein (20 3) and William Smith (18-2-3) faces Messiah (23-0) in San Antonio on Dec. 3. The Red Bulls on Monday traded Jeremy Hall, the No. 11 draft pick overall in 2009, to expansion Portland for a third-round pick in the 2011 draft. 