Albuquerque Sunday Journal
Sunday, Nov. 21, 1999
A Real Lesson in International Relations
NAIA Sprinkled with Foreigners
by Glen Rosales
for the Journal
SANTA ANA PUEBLO--The instructions and encouragement shouted in from the sidelines sometimes came in English heavily laced with a British accent during the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics men's soccer tournament.
At other times, the message was in Spanish. Sometimes, it was in an unrecognizable language.
"Way to go, laddies."
"Vamos, vamos."
Such is the nature of the NAIA, where relaxed rules permit rosters sprinkled liberally, if not entirely, with players from foreign countries.
Yet, it was an American, Piper Lee from Illinois-Springfield, that ended a grueling, double overtime match Saturday in the quarterfinals of the tournament at the New Mexico Soccer Tournament Complex.
Lee's goal, his second of the game, gave the fourth-seeded Prarie Stars a 2-1 win against No. 5 seed Life (Ga.). UIS will meet top-seed Mobile (Ala.) in the semifinal match Monday. Birmingham Southern played St. Gegory's in a late quarterfinal match Saturday, while Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) met defending champions Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the other late quarterfinal match.
"I took a shot, and their 'keeper made the save, but he didn't hold on to it," Lee said of his game winner in the 116th minute. "The ball was loose, and the 'keeper was down. I just jumped over him and toed it in. I was six feet away. I wasn't going to miss that one."
The Prarie Stars feature a roster that's nearly evenly split between American and international players, while Life is comprised entirely of foreign players.
It takes a deft touch to blend the different styles of play, the different languages, and the different cultures into a cohesive unit, said UIS coachAydin Gonulsen, who orgininally is from Turkey.
"When I was 15 years old in Turkey, I managed a restaurant," he said. "I had to oversee 30 waiters, dishwashers, and cooks. If there's one thing I'm strong in, it's my ability to get all kinds of different people to develop a common goal."
It surely has worked for the Prarie Stars, who have been to the NAIA championships 18 times in 22 years under Gonulsen, winning three titles.
"We have a new group every year," he said. "They fight amongst themselves at the beginning. But by this time of the year, they're family. They help each other out on the field."
This year's group has players from as far away as Istanbul, Turkey, and as near as Comfort, Texas, which is where Lee resides. Life has players from even more exotic locales, like Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Blantyre, Malawi.
Getting a chance to learn from players with international experience is invaluable, Lee said.
"I want to play at the highest level that I can play," Lee said. "Playing with the international players can really help me. They just have so much experience and knowledge about the game. They grew up playing the game from when they were babies."
A walk-on wannabe who never made it at Southern Methodist, Lee said he transferred because he was tired of watching his friends play while he sat in gthe stands.
Now, he gets a chance to play with and against some players with tremendous experience.
One of those is teammate Bektas Blgilisoy, who was born and raised in Germany. He played several years of semi-pro soccer there before deciding to head to the U. S. for an education.
The athleticism of the American players was something of a surprise, he said, and their technical skills are improving.
Lee could only agree.
"American kids aren't taught the right way in club soccer," Lee said. "They're going on athleticism only. They can tell us things, even when the game is going on. Little things like a turn of a foot here or touch there."
It's second nature for the international players, however.
"We know how to run, we know when to run, and we know where to run," Blgilisoy said.
They learn to cooperate together.
"That's the purpose of life," he said, "to get along and cooperate."
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