Oct. 8, 2008
Note: Patriot League student-athlete spotlight stories will feature the on- and off-field achievements in all sports throughout the 2008-09 season. Stories will be released on Wednesday of each week.
by Ashley Hicks, Patriot League Media and External Relations Assistant
You might think that a second-year international student from Hamburg would still be adjusting to life in the States, but when soccer is the common denominator between Germany and America, the transition is that much easier.
"Germany is not that much different from the US," said American University sophomore Friederike Engel. "The most radical adjustment I had to make was getting used to speaking English. I think my teammates helped me the most to adjust to all the new things, because they always helped me when I needed something or did not understand."
The midfielder/defender, and American's first Patriot League Rookie of the Year, wanted to pursue higher education in the United States for as long as she can remember.
"It was always my dream to go to a college in America. I always saw it in movies and in Germany you hear a lot of good things about women's soccer in the U.S., so I wanted to go and see for myself," Engel said. "Until the last days before I came here, I did not really believe that it would be possible for me, though. I thought that it must be so great when you can play soccer for a school that also cares about how you do academically."
Engel chose American not only because of its location in Washington, D.C. ,outstanding academics and high percentage of international students, but also because athletics and academics are much more integrated in the United States than at home in Germany.
"At home, we don't play soccer in high schools or universities. The only chance to play for a good team in Germany is playing for a club," she said. "That also means that it is much more complicated to concentrate on school and soccer with the same importance. At home, the school is not involved in soccer, they do not know if we have hard games or practices. And the soccer team does not know if you have exams or tests in school. That is very different here. Professors always know what's going on with soccer, and the coaches are informed of school life."
"I think AU does a great job in supporting athletes and making them good students and good soccer players at the same time," she continued. "The athletics department also helps a lot to balance soccer and school. With the help and support of so many people, it is as easy as it can get."
Born and raised in soccer-crazed Germany by her parents Hartmut and Ulrike, Engel started playing soccer as a child.
"I have played soccer as long as I can think," the marine sciences major remembered. "When I was really young, my father played soccer and my siblings and I went to all of his games and played with him and his teammates. When I was 7, my sister joined a club team, and a few weeks later I was playing for the same team."
Engel played seven years of club soccer for Hamburger, including four in the Bundesliga, the highest level of Germany's soccer league system. Engel was also selected and played for Germany's Under-19 National Team that eventually won a European championship.
"Playing for the U-19 National team was a great experience. I learned so much over the time I was part of the team and it was really nice to play for my country," Engel said. "I still cannot really believe what it means that I played for that team and that we won!"
It was evident that Engel had applied the lessons she learned from that experience to her soccer game at American. As a freshman in the 2007 season, Engel was part of a defense that allowed 0.80 goals per game and had seven shutouts. Engel was named an NSCAA Mid-Atlantic All-Region Selection and was a First-Team All-Patriot League pick.
"I think the most important thing I learned is that if you play as a team and everybody helps everybody else to do their best, everything is possible," she said. "Teamwork always leads to success and I think it is one of the most important things in soccer."
This season, the Eagles are 3-9-1, but Engel knows that the season is not over. When it comes to Patriot League play, she said, anything can happen.
"I think the Patriot League is a good league and all its schools are academically good schools," she said. "It is a very competitive league and many teams have the chance to win the League and go to the NCAAs. Our new coach [Head Coach David Bucciero] especially placed importance on us keeping the ball and the different parts of the team playing together, [which is] what should help us to compete successfully against our Patriot League opponents."
