Aug. 28, 2000
They say there is no "I" in team, but there certainly is one guy on the 2000 UIC soccer team that can make a difference - forward Eric Lukin, who returns for his senior campaign this fall.
In 1999, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and UIC's first-ever NCAA Division I All-American almost single-handedly led the Flames to their first-ever MCC regular-season and tournament championships as well as their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance last fall. A graduate of Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Ill., Lukin finished second in the country in scoring with a whopping 21 goals and 14 assists for 56 points and also ranked tied for fourth for goals per game and eighth for assists per game in the national stats.
"I wouldn't expect anything less than last year's results from Eric," UIC Head Coach Sasha Begovic said of his stud. "He's a key player and I expect us to be in the NCAA Tournament again this year. I don't want to put that much pressure on one guy - there are 10 other players on the field, but one guy can make a difference."
And make a difference he has. In just his first three seasons at UIC, Lukin already owns the school records for career goals (35) and points (93) and is tied for first with 23 career assists. He also matched a school record with four goals in just one outing against Butler last season. During the year, Lukin also received several accolades during the year as he was named the MCC Player of the Week four times, was voted to the Soccer America Team of the Week on Nov. 9 and was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in mid-November.
"I was very happy with my production last year," the soft-spoken Lukin said, "but it's always hard to repeat something like that. Teams have found out about me, so I get marked a lot tighter. To repeat or even get a little bit better would be great. My teammates play a big part in my success because they need to get me the ball. Last year, John Collins did a great job of getting the ball to the forwards, so that obviously helped out with my success."
Following his outstanding year, Lukin drew the attention of several local and national scouts and was offered a professional contract to play in Croatia, meaning he would have to forego his senior season at UIC. Lukin, however, decided to remain in school and wait to see what the future holds after he has his diploma hanging on the wall.
"I want to finish up school - it's important to me and my parents," Lukin said of his decision to return to UIC. "Obviously there's no security in playing professionally, so I want to have a back-up plan. I would love to play professionally after college - it just depends on the situation. If it comes, it comes and that would be one of the greatest things for me, but if it doesn't, it doesn't."
Lukin's back-up plan includes the desire to teach physical education at the grade school or junior high level and then, of course, also coach soccer. Teaching the sport he loves to youngsters would seem like a perfect fit for Lukin who got his start playing soccer when he was just three years old.
"My parents are from Croatia, and over there they play soccer all the time," Lukin said of his introduction to the sport. "They would invite their friends over and I was just three years old and we would play in the backyard at picnics. I started playing organized soccer when I was five or six years old, but really got started playing against my dad and his friends when I was three."
To say that his career has come a long way since the days of his backyard games would be a drastic understatement. Lukin and the Flames, who were the MCC coach's preseason favorites, are eyeing a second trip to the NCAA Tournament in November and according to Lukin, the possibility is high.
"With our team this year, I don't really think we are missing anything at all," Lukin said. "We're a little more experienced this year, we have almost all of our starters back and we have a couple of freshmen that are going to help out a lot. Going back to the NCAA's is certainly possible - it all depends on how we click as a team. So far we've been working together well, everyone is in good shape and the confidence level is high."
