A passport to play

Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 | 7:38 a.m.

Danny Cruz arrived at UNLV with a dog-eared passport and invaluable international seasoning from a whirlwind spring and summer in which he jetted all over the world.

A higher soccer education started for the 17-year-old freshman striker long before he first slipped on a UNLV uniform .

In Italy, Cruz watched locals live each day to the fullest. They work to live, he noted, in contrast to many Americans who do the opposite.

In Lisbon, Portugal, he and his U.S. Under- 18 teammates holed up in a five-star resort while his high school class back home in Glendale, Ariz., went through its graduation ceremony.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the U.S. players , competing against Mexico , were constantly booed by 40,000 fans in the famed Maracana Stadium. "The biggest stadium in the world, where Pele played," Cruz says. "It was bad. Fans didn't like us. It was tough, but a great experience."

Then he played in his first World Cup, of the U-17 variety, in South Korea, where the Americans overcame an early upset to advance to a second-round game against Germany.

Cruz was home for maybe five days during the summer.

"Sometimes I look back and say, 'I can't believe this is happening to me. Why me?' " Cruz says. "The truth is, I've had great people behind me. Every coach has helped me with where I want to go."

Hockey taught him how to be physical. In his youth career, he impressed national coaches. He switched to soccer when he was a freshman in high school.

In his first collegiate season, Cruz has scored four goals and assisted on four others. College Soccer News tabbed him as one of 22 national freshmen of impact, and he was among the top 30 scorers in the nation with 1.57 points a game .

That has tailed off, coinciding with a four-game losing streak by the Rebels, who are 5-7-2 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Cruz has 12 points in 11 matches.

UNLV plays host to New Mexico on Saturday . Expect Cruz to be ready because several friends play for the Lobos. Cruz has dished out ample punishment this season, and he takes it just as well. That toughness is exactly what second-year Rebels coach Mario Sanchez has been seeking to lay a foundation for his program.

Sanchez coached the Olympic Development Program Region IV team in Italy, and Cruz was the team captain. Cruz accepted a large trophy on behalf of the team from the mayor of Gradisca, Italy, after the tournament.

Wearing the captain's band on his arm fueled him.

"With five minutes left, when you feel like you can't go, that tight pressure on my arm told me what I had to do," he says. "My team was looking at me, and I thought, 'I can do it.' "

His two excursions to Europe, his trip to South America and his jaunt to Asia also reaffirmed a passion for the sport that Cruz hopes will carry him to a senior World Cup.

He doesn't allow little mistakes to drag him down anymore.

"International - wise, you have to cherish every single moment on the field," Cruz says. "If they take you off, you won't get called back. You have to go into every tackle as if it's your last.

"I want to make a career out of this sport. It's what I want to do with my life. If I keep working like I am, it'll happen."