UIC soccer alum Jay DeMerit profiled in <i>USA Today</i>

May 19, 2006

LONDON -- Eating beans on toast and earning $40 a week is not the life associated with emerging talents in English soccer. On the landscape of association football, however, Jay DeMerit is no ordinary player.

DeMerit's story of how he became one of America's leading soccer players in England resembles Goal! Like the film's main protagonist, Santiago Munez, DeMerit -- a 6-0, 180-pound native of Green Bay, Wis., and a Matt Damon look-alike -- arrived in England with little more than a dream in his head and hope in his heart.

Sunday, he'll be starting on the backline for Watford when it takes on Leeds United in the season finale in Cardiff, Wales. The winner gets promoted from the second division to the English Premier League, guaranteeing yet another American international will play a vital role in helping his team move up to what some consider the best soccer league in the world.

For Andrew Rogers' complete story, refer to page C6 of Friday's USA Today or click online at http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/europe/2006-05-18-demerit_x.htm

DeMerit graduated from UIC in 2001 as one of the soccer program's most decorated athletes. A three-time all-conference first team selection and a three-time NSCAA All-Midwest honoree, DeMerit was a big part of the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament team in 1999 and UIC's heralded Sweet 16 run in 2000. DeMerit anchored a legendary defense that helped post 10 shutouts in 2000.