Doing the Dirty Work

Matt Behncke '02 describes his job as "dirty work," but he has no complaints. He doesn't view it as hard work because he enjoys it and always has. As a defender for Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, he's still doing what he's been doing for as long as he can remember — kicking a soccer ball.

He's one of the few Tiger athletes who have been able to take their skills to the next level after graduation. Some might wonder why he would go through four years of intense classes at Princeton when his ultimate goal was to play pro soccer.

That topic came up in a recent conversation Behncke had with friend, classmate and fellow professional athlete Chris Young, a pitcher for the Texas Rangers. After discussing the recent flux of players in various sports to the professional scene without graduating, they both concurred that their years at Princeton were worth the effort.

"Even if I never use my degree, I'll still be glad I made the choice to go to Princeton," Behncke said. "It was a life experience being around so many great and intelligent people."

At Princeton, Behncke was a part of two Ivy League championship soccer squads and calls the first title, in 1999, his most memorable soccer moment as a Tiger. It was the team's first outright championship since 1960, and Princeton needed to fight to the end of a 0-0 tie with Yale to clinch it in the last game of the season. In front of a crowd of 3,000 people, the Tigers stopped all of the Bulldogs' scoring chances in overtime to preserve the tie and earn the league title.

This fall, Behncke had a chance to be a part of the crowd as he watched his sister, junior Emily Behncke, help the Princeton women's soccer team to travel further in the NCAA tournament than he'd ever gone himself.

"I followed the games, and I was at the quarterfinals — it was a great win and atmosphere," said Behncke, who also traveled to the Tigers' Final Four match. "I was excited to see them do so well."

His senior year, after his second Ivy League title, the Tigers received a bye in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but they were upset at home to quash the team's dreams.

That February he received some consolation when the Dallas Burn drafted him in the 18th overall selection.

His track to professional soccer was a little different than most, though. While his teammates were in preseason training in Chile, Behncke was in the basement of Firestone, alongside his fellow seniors, crunching out his Politics department thesis. Prevented from joining the team full-time until June by graduation festivities, his lack of fitness prevented an immediate impact. Behncke also had to adapt to a new role on the field. As a Tiger, he was a midfielder, but in the MLS he was moved to defense.

"Early on I had good coaches. They figured defense would be the spot I'd play at a higher level," Behncke said. "When I came to Princeton, I was more of an attacking mid, but I progressed and became more defending."

By the end of his first season, he had started two games for the Burn, and he started over half the games for Dallas in 2004. This off-season, he was picked up in the expansion draft by Real Salt Lake. The transition has been smooth, and he's enjoying his new environment — he's started two of three games.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Life as a pro athlete is different from the hectic schedule of the typical Princeton student. Behncke will usually show up for work around 9:30 a.m. for treatment or to watch some video with his teammates. After practice from 10 to 11:30 a.m., he's generally home by noon to lift.

After lunch his day is pretty much free to spend as he chooses — as long as he doesn't ski. Behncke can look out his window to the ski slopes of Park City resorts, but his year-round contract prevents him from setting foot on a slope.

Instead, since graduation, he has filled his time by catching up on precept reading, lowering his golf handicap and studying for the LSAT. Behncke expects to go to law school after his soccer career is over, though he doesn't know when that will be.

After watching his Princeton teammate Mike Nugent '02, who was also drafted, suffer a career-ending knee injury just a few months after graduation, Behncke knows he can't take his career as a soccer player for granted.

He knows he has plenty to fall back on, but, for now, he's more than happy to keep kicking around that soccer ball and doing the "dirty work," just as he always has.