DeKALB | Flopping, diving, tripping on air. No matter what a coach calls it, intentionally falling in order to draw a foul from the official is a part of soccer and has been for years.

Soccer games across the board are often decided by a solitary goal; creating an environment that has everything riding on one shot. NIU men’s soccer coach Eric Luzzi, NIU men’s soccer coach, doesn’t endorse taking a fall to get a foul called, but understands why it takes place.

“There’s a lot at stake at certain points in the game,” Luzzi said. “And free kicks often decide games, so the fact that there is so much at stake is where the flopping aspect comes in.”

In large part, most flops occur in the 18-yard box in front of the goal. With that in mind, senior midfielder on the NIU women’s team, Megan Harry has had to change the way she defends in order to avoid a call going against her team.

“When I’m defending I have to be more ball orientated,” Harry said. “I’m more focused on getting the ball out of the box then hitting the girl because I know that there is the potential for that girl to just fall if I touch her.”

Outside of the 18-yard box, NIU goalkeeper for the women’s team, Meaghan Bennett sees it as foolish to fake a foul.

“There are times when you have to sell it,” Bennett said. “But if you’re in the middle of the field I think it’s best to try and stay on your feet.”

On the men’s team, midfielder Hooman Shams has seen the changing nature of the game have a large impact on diving.

“The game has progressed to the point where the intensity has gotten so high that players get a lot more physical,” Shams said. “Hits have gotten harder and sometimes the calls are for the safety of the player, but a lot of the time it will look like a big hit, but the guy just took a fall to get the call.”

In a defender’s perspective, Rocco Taglia has to stay aware of the possibility of a call going against him.

“When a kid is right on you and you don’t even touch him but he falls, it’s frustrating,” Taglia said. “But with that said, we can’t just let up. We have to continue to play physical without going too far, and giving the opponent the opportunity to flop.”

Carrie Barker, NIU women’s soccer head coach,  doesn’t care for the practice, but believes that it is not a big issue in the college game.

“There are some teams that will coach that, but I don’t think it’s that prevalent on the college level,” Barker said. “At the highest level’s though, there are some cultures that actually coach their players how to dive. The Italians, for example, will teach their players how to sell the fall.”

Luzzi echoes Barker’s sentiment.

“At the higher level there is more sophistication involved,” Luzzi said. “Also, it is really cultural. In the English league there isn’t a lot of flopping, but in the Spanish and Italian leagues it goes on a lot.”

While Luzzi doesn’t teach his players to go down to get a call, at least one of his players has perfected the art of falling.

“Let’s just say I can take a fall for my team,” Shams said.