From USSoccerUK.com: "Two members of the University of Pennsylvania’s soccer team are headed for a 21-day trial with French Ligue 1 outfit Sochaux. "Junior goalkeeper Matthew Haefner and freshman defender Erik Violante both played pivotal roles for the Quakers, who won their first Ivy League championship in 25 years in 2002, and have earned the chance to show off their skills on the other side of the Atlantic this summer." Violante was part of the ODP Europe program. While in France as a teenager he played for PSG's youth teams. I'm not sure but I think he was one of SoccerAmerica's outstanding freshmen this year.
Interesting. I've only seen Violante play once but was impressed. A good, smart left back with nice skill and average athleticism. Having seen him play more now, he's a lot like SJ's Todd Dunivant. Given the U20 team's weakness at left back (Jordan Harvey? Please!) I would have thought Violante was someone that Thomas Rongen would have looked at. Perhaps if sticks with this club in France, TR will give him a call-up. Haeffner was good but not outstanding when I saw him but he is 6-4 and with American goalies being sexy in Europe right now, I wouldn't be surprised if he sticks. Of course, whatever they offer, the French clubs will have to offer a pretty good salary to make these guys pass up the Ivy League education. Odds are this will just be training, but you never know. BTW, here's an article on Violante that ran in the Philly paper last fall http://c4.zedo.com//ads2/f/21824/3853/172/0/162000105/162000105/0/162/76/zz-V1-pop1052255703813.html
If comparisons to the advantages of an Ivy league education are to be made, wouldn't it make sense to take into account potential future earnings, rather than what these French clubs can offer them right now? Or do we not think these guys can produce enough to out-weigh the benefits of a good education?
Where did you see him play? I'm not sure exactly how many people nationally know who he is. I also don't know how much contact he's had with the Fed about this stuff. It is just that, believe me. Erik's in Wharton and won't pass up that degree. He's just as likely to end up with Vivendi as PSG after graduating. Haefner, on the other hand, might get contract offers from MLS in two years, probably from Bradley b/c of his connections with the area. I don't know enough about all of it at this point. I'm impressed that there's actually a BigSoccer thread about Penn soccer now, I must say.
Are you speculating or do you have inside info from being on campus? If you've heard this from one of the players or coaches, I'll accept it as credible but if you're just guessing I'm gonna take a wait and see attitude. Never under estimate the lure of the game and a pro environment, not to mention the money. Violante seems like a very bright kid but also a worldly and adventerous one as well so if he gets an offer, I think he'd consider it.
Who's to say he won't go back to Wharton in the off seasonor after he done with soccer? Plenty of athletes do that..... like ....or.....then there's....... Well, it could be done.
Having had the honor of being cut by the Penn footy program back when it really, really suxed, I can't believe that it ever won the Ivy champ much less has a thread on BS. That said, both should go, go, go. All a Penn degree gets you is endless calls from fundraising. A PSG reserves kit, on the other hand, will look great on any wall.
Hard to believe that any player who had real professional aspirations would go to an Ivy league school and then leave early....pretty much the same thing goes for Stanford....
Arena?? I know, he didn't leave early, and I doubted that he had pro (player) aspirations at that time.
It's happened outside of soccer, though. Chris Young was all-Ivy hoops and baseball, signed with the Pirates after his sophomore year.
I don't know. All the stuff in the article about other US Soccer people from the Ivy League was from MLSNet, USSoccer.com, and the various universities' websites.
Matt Napolean, an All-Ivy League GK at Columbia, signed a P40 deal before his senior season. He is the only Ivy Leaguer in the MLS era to leave early. As for Stanford, no Cardinal players have gone P40 though I will be shocked in Chad Marshall, a rising sophomore, plays four seasons. He may not go the MLS route but I bet he leaves early. Players from good schools have gone P40 or left early. UCLA and Virginia are both very good schools and they have have myriad players leave early. North Carolina, too. Are they Ivy League or Stanford in academic quality? Likely just a notch below but the kids are still walking away from damn good educations.
One thing that distinguishes Ivy League from other good schools is that Ivy League athletes are not on athletic scholarships.