Two UNM men's soccer players may get the chance to achieve something kids grow up dreaming about.
Seniors Hans Bevers and Jeff Krause have been invited to participate in the Major League Soccer Player Combine Jan. 9-11.
Sixty-six college seniors were invited to the tryout which gives MLS coaches a chance to view players before the MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 14.
"I'm pumped and a little bit surprised," Krause said of his invitation. "I'm really looking forward to getting out there and showing the coaches what I can do."
The combine will take place in Carson, Calif., and consists of three scrimmages, one each morning between the four teams into which the 66 players are split.
Krause was a transfer from the University of Pittsburgh after his sophomore season and was a starter in both his junior and senior years. He was an honorable mention All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player this year, scoring two goals and dishing out three assists, while starting in 19 of 20 games at center midfielder.
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"Krause is very skillful," head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. "He's good in the air and covers ground well for a player his size."
Bevers, also a senior, was a transfer from the University of Antwerp in Belgium this season. He led the Lobos and the MPSF in assists this year with eight and netted two goals as well. He was also an honorable-mention All-MPSF player.
"Bevers is probably the best wide player we saw this year," Fishbein said. "His tactical understanding and ability to take people on make him a great player."
Bevers said he never expected to get drafted when he came here, but now he likes his chances to play professionally. If he does, it would allow him to stay in the United States longer, an opportunity he said he would relish.
"I'm counting on getting drafted, so I'm not arranging my plane tickets back to Belgium yet," he said. "This came all of a sudden, and it's a great chance for me to stay longer here. If this didn't come up, I was going to have to go back in January to Belgium."
Krause said he was excited to get a chance to showcase his skills for professional coaches.
"I'd like to say my chances are good," he said. "But we'll see. If I play well out there, I think I have a pretty good shot."
Fishbein said both of them could fit in with an MLS team.
"I think they both have a very good chance of making it professionally," he said.
UNM senior Patrick Grange, the third-leading scorer on the team with seven goals, did not receive an invite. Senior goalkeeper Andrew Weber, a first-team All-MPSF player in 2004 didn't either.
"You know, I think they got screwed," Krause said "They- actually all of our seniors - deserved to be invited."
Fishbein said Weber was not given an invite, because they only took six goalkeepers. He said he thought Grange wasn't invited, because he was overshadowed by junior Jeff Rowland's performance at forward this year. Rowland finished the season as the all-time leading scorer in the program's history with 19 goals and six assists.
"They are both going to get their opportunities," Fishbein said of Grange and Weber. "We'll make sure they get into all the preseason MLS camps to get a chance to show that they can play with any other players out there."
Neither Grange nor Weber could be reached for comment on Tuesday.
