From the site of the 2022 World Cup, former University of Evansville men's soccer player Mark Anthony Gonzalez enjoyed the experience of a lifetime last month as he earned his first-ever call-up to a Canadian national team, joining the U23 squad for a pair of contests against Uzbekistan and host Qatar in Doha.
 
Gonzalez, a native of Toronto, has enjoyed a whirlwind year since his Evansville career came to an end after the 2015 season. In January of 2016, the forward became the latest in a long line of UE players to earn a professional contract, signing the dotted line with the Sporting KC-affiliated upstart Swope Park Rangers. By the time the summer rolled around, Gonzalez proved a revelation in leading the front line for SPR, ending the season as the leading scorer for a team that advanced all the way to the USL championship match. In the build-up to that final match, Gonzalez turned heads around the soccer community, earning the club's offensive player of the year award, and he even made an appearance on SiriusXM's United States of Soccer radio show.
 
His impressive campaign led to an invite to train with SKC before returning to Swope earlier this year, when he'd earn the call from Canada Soccer and the program's new head coach, Octavio Zambrano. Unfortunately for Gonzalez, his time with the national team was ultimately limited by an injury early in camp, but it is still an experience that he relishes.
 
"The call-up caught me off-guard because I wasn't really expecting it," Gonzalez revealed. "I think my season last year put me on their radar. Between a successful four years at UE and then the good rookie season, things have been going really well for me this past year."
 
"This is definitely one of the best achievements of my career," he continued. "It's always an honor to get called up for your national team, especially when it's the first time. I was only able to participate in a couple of the training sessions before I got hurt, but I was still able to enjoy my time in camp. It was exciting because we had a bunch of young players with us, and with the World Cup five years away, this could be the future for Canada Soccer. It was great to get a taste for how it would be in Qatar."
 
Gonzalez was also joined in camp by an SPR teammate, Amer Didic.
 
Gonzalez is far from the only Ace, past or present, to represent his country on the international stage. Jesse Stafford Lacey, who enjoyed a standout freshman season in 2016, has captained a number of Irish youth sides, and Sam Wilson, who joined the Aces earlier this semester, came to Evansville after extensive experience in the New Zealand national set-up.
 
Historically, Aces have made their mark all over the globe with their respective national teams, perhaps none as impressively as former UE All-American David Weir, who in 1998 became the first-ever player from an American college to represent a European country in the World Cup. The Falkirk, Scotland, native is one of the most decorated players in Scottish history, earning 69 caps and playing into his 40s.
 
In all, over 30 former UE players have earned an invite to a national team camp.
 
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