Athletes set goals so that one day, their dreams of becoming professional superstars will come true.

NIU men’s soccer goalkeeper Rasih Pala, a senior, has followed through with his goals, and the time has come to move on to the next level.

Come July 12, NIU’s Co-MVP will be on a plane to his birthplace, Turkey. He will try out for three soccer teams that hold the keys to unlock his lifelong dream.

“My ultimate goal was to play professionally,” Pala said. “Europe was my No. 1 option.”

When Pala arrives, he will try out during the preseason of the Premier League. The regular season for the league began on Aug. 9, 2002, and will end June 1.

Trabzonspor (Trub-zon-spoar) is one team Pala will try out for. It is fifth in the league and has won 2-1 over Goztepe (Guz-tep-ay) on Nov. 9, another team Pala will try out for.

One more tryout in Turkey’s Division Two league, which is split into two levels, A and B, is arranged for the 2003 season. Karsiyaka (Kar-see-yuka) competes in the 2B League that is split into groups A, B and C, each containing 18 teams, and expects Pala for a tryout in July as well.

“It helps out a lot that I’m not a foreign player,” Pala said.

The second-team, All-MAC mid-fielder has a Turkish passport because his parents immigrated to Canada before he came to NIU.

A team in Germany, S.F. Siegen (Zee-gan) 1899, also is being considered by Pala, but he has not set up a tryout date.

If plans across the Atlantic Ocean fall through, Pala has a backup plan to play in Toronto, Canada.

Pala already will have formed a relationship with the Toronto Lynx if he returns, as he is set to work out with the Lynx through the end of June.

The Lynx are in the A-League, a league that runs through the United States and acts as a feeder league for the Major Soccer League.

For now, Pala is helping to guide the Huskie soccer team through spring workouts as it awaits the appointment of a new coach.

“Rasih taught me how to be tough and how to get through situations on the field,” freshman goalkeeper Steve Goletz said.

As a last resort, Pala will put his criminology degree into effect by applying to the Toronto Police Force to start a career in law enforcement, a process he will begin in June when he fills out the application.

“My goal before was to obtain a scholarship and play soccer in the U.S.,” Pala said. “My No. 1 goal now is to play professionally.”