Many college soccer players dream of making the jump to the pros, but, like the popular NCAA commercial says, the reality is “almost all of them will go pro in something other than sports.”
In fact, less than 1.7 percent of college soccer players go on to play pro ball. Though the odds may be stacked against them, senior Bulldog co-captains Carrie Patterson and Michelle Betos are determined that this season’s end won’t be the last time they step foot on a soccer field.

Luckily for both, the opportunity to play here in the U.S. exists once again. 2009 marked the inaugural season for the Women’s Professional Soccer League, currently a seven team league that replaces the old WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association), which folded in 2003 after three seasons because of crippling budget deficits.

The league also plans to add two expansion franchises for the 2010 slate, the Philadelphia Independence and another just miles down the road from Athens – the Atlanta Beat. For both players, the opportunity to play in the WPSL would be a dream come true.

“It’s really cool that the league has come back, and apparently it’s built a lot differently this year, so hopefully it’ll stick around, and I would love to play for the league,” Patterson said. “I think there are a lot of great players in the league, and it would just be an honor to play with them.”

“You know, that’s the dream. I really want to play in the league if that’s an opportunity,” Betos said. “I mean I love it; I just want to play as long as I can.”

Georgia assistant coach Steve Nugent, who joined the Georgia coaching staff in 2008 after over 18 years coaching at the college, club, Olympic development and high school levels in Florida, has had under his tutelage a number of players who have made the leap to the pro ranks.

Nugent feels that both Betos, who has the second most career shutouts in Georgia soccer history, and Patterson, the school’s all-time leading scorer, have what it takes to make their dreams a reality.

“Obviously with Michelle, it would be her leadership. You want a goalkeeper that has total command of what’s happening in front of her, and she has that,” said Nugent. “Some might look at Michelle and say that her lack of height might be a hindrance, but anyone who watches her play at a consistent level would never be concerned about that.

“Carrie’s very similar. She’s got pace, good technical abilities, and, again, going back to the mental side of things, she’s got that will to win.”

Both Betos and Patterson plan to graduate in May – Betos equipped with a psychology degree and Patterson with a marketing degree and spanish minor. However, both agree that, for the time being, career plans outside of soccer belong on the back burner.

“I want to coach at some point, and with my psych major I’m definitely thinking about doing the sports psychology thing if I [go] back to grad school . but I mean, I definitely just want to play as long as I can.”

Added Patterson: “I think I’m going to pursue the soccer thing as much as I can, and then when that time is passed I definitely want to do something with marketing, maybe sports marketing.”

For both, the current goal is to defeat Lousiana State and Arkansas this weekend. But for the long haul Nugent knows that the two have what it takes to be successful.

“Anytime you have a goal, you want to do the things that are necessary to reach that goal,” he said. “They’re focused on this being a part of their lives when they leave here.”