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 Like many high school seniors across Wisconsin, Lucas Cardona is planning to go to college and play soccer.
But it's highly unlikely any of his peers are taking the same approach as the former Madison Memorial standout.
Cardona will graduate in January, a semester ahead of his classmates, and head to his native Uruguay to study at the University of the Republic in Montevideo. Once there, he'll look at lining up trials with professional clubs.
"I'm obviously going to school and then seeing how the soccer (goes) and then go from there, but school's always top priority," Cardona explained last month. "I'll have the opportunity to try out for a pro club, so that should be interesting."
As a Uruguayan citizen, Cardona can attend the University of the Republic for free. The academic year begins in April at the school, which has an estimated enrollment of 80,000.
Cardona, whose family moved to Madison when he was 8 years old, earned first-team all-state honors from the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association in 2009, was honorable mention in 2010 and made the first team of the Large Schools team last fall. The forward finished his four-year prep career with 44 goals and 25 assists and was a three-time first-team All-Big Eight Conference and Madison All-City selection.
"I did think about colleges here and education, but my parents and I really wanted me to kind of expand, be a world citizen," said Cardona, who could have pursued a college soccer career in the U.S. "And it's a great place to play soccer."
Uruguay, which borders Brazil, Argentina and the Atlantic Ocean in southeast South America, has a population of 3.4 million – or more than 2 million fewer people than Wisconsin. However, despite being roughly the same size of Missouri, Uruguay has a tremendous soccer history.
The national team won the first World Cup in 1930 and prevailed again in 1950 and has won the Copa America, the South American regional title, a record 15 times. "La Celeste" won Copa America last summer and finished fourth at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Cardona will have plenty of clubs to choose from as he seeks trials: Montevideo alone has 12 top-division clubs and 18 smaller clubs. All but one of the 16 teams in the Uruguayan Premier League this season are from the capital city, along with seven of the 13 teams in the Segunda Division.
"It's a small country, so you have a lot of contacts – a guy who made it, or knows people," said Cardona, who played club soccer with MYSC-Rush. "We have friends who have contacts at clubs. ... It doesn't really matter (which club); it should be really exciting. (We'll) see if they take me or not."
Memorial coach Ben Voss said although he used Cardona almost exclusively up top for the Spartans, he thinks his best position at a higher level likely is as an outside midfielder.
"The ball comes out to him, he's really good in 2v2, 3v3 – his recovery is so good in a short amount of space, and he can really utilize his quickness and foot skills," Voss said. "I think he's got to get somewhere where the environment is very competitive, that's maybe going to help him."
What else helps him is his approach, and not just on the field.
"He's a smart kid. He's very practical and realistic about stuff ... He's just a fun kid," Voss said of Cardona, who was one of Memorial's captains this year. "He reminds me a lot about why you got into the business and why you wanted to teach and coach.
"I don't even know how to put it into words, but he's got this savviness, this competitive fire – get out of my way. I'm 5-foot-5, 5-foot-6, but I'm going to outwork you and the moment that you fall asleep on a play or take a play off or that you just are not paying attention, that's where he'll hurt you the most. ... He's a guy who has embraced all the opportunities he's had in front of him."
Here's a look at Cardona through the "I AM JMM" Project, a series of videos created by Memorial student Ben Rifken highlighting school spirit.
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