In 2013, Matt Eliason's life changed when he scored a bicycle kick in a soccer game against Lionel Messi. (OnlyAGameNPR)
It had been nearly two years since Northwestern alum Matt Eliason played college soccer, when he got a strange text from his old coach, Tim Lenahan.
"So, once the head coach of Northwestern, Tim Lenahan, said he had a walk-on spot for me, I was really excited and was just anxious to get there to try and prove that I belonged as a Division I soccer player," Matt says. Matt decided to take some time off from school and headed down to Fort Lauderdale for the combine. He was eager to show off his skills in the scrimmages.
Matt figured he’d ride the bench. But as he learned more details, he began to realize he might actually get a shot at playing. "As we were driving over in the bus, you saw fans waiting outside of Soldier Field — for Messi, not for us," Matt says."But we're going into the stadium and just seeing thousands of fans surround the bus. It was a pretty cool sight. And it actually started to get a little nervous because in my head, I didn't expect to do too much in the game. And then I was like, 'Oh, if I actually get on the field, there's a lot of people here.
"I was kind of like, ‘OK, let's just try and be as simple as possible. Just try and pass to the closest person,'"Matt says."'Let's not make this too complex.’
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