Ricketts joins countrymen on Canada's U-23 national team

Tosaint Ricketts had quite a year. In addition to being a part of perhaps the most productive season in the program's history, Ricketts has had a busy year individually as well. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Ricketts was selected to play on the Canadian U-23 soccer team, which competed against the United States last month for a spot in this summer's Olympic games in Beijing, China. Although the Canadian team lost 3-0 to the U.S. team - which touted the likes of Freddy Adu and a handful of Major League Soccer players - Ricketts took a lot away from the experience. "It's always a privilege to represent your country at a high level," Ricketts said. "It was really great." Going into the game, Ricketts had already played Adu and many of the players on the U.S. team. Players with those kind of resumes can be intimidating, but come game time, they're just players, according to Ricketts. "Their name is obviously big, but they're just another player on the field," Ricketts said. "You don't really think about it during the game." Playing on a Canadian national select team was nothing new to Ricketts, as he played for Canada's U-20 World Cup team last summer. On top of his selection to the Canadian U-23 team this year, Ricketts was also named a starter, a well-deserved honor given that he's 20 years old, according to UWGB's Head Coach Tom Poitras, who recruited Ricketts as a part of his first recruiting class three years ago. "The experiences he's had, getting to play in the Under-20 World Cup last year, not too many players in the world get to do that," Poitras said. "As a 20-year-old, to get called onto the Under-23 Olympic team and end up being a starter on that team is pretty impressive." Ricketts was born and raised in Edmonton and first started playing soccer competitively when he was 14. Ricketts decision to play collegiate soccer at UWGB came after Poitras saw a videotape of Ricketts and made a trip to Canada to see him first-hand. Poitras liked what he saw, as did Ricketts. "I wanted to play my freshman year," Ricketts said. "So I came to a school where I thought I could play my freshman year. It was Green Bay." This year, UWGB went 11-5-6, which included a win over eventual-NCAA Championship runner-up Ohio State, on Sept. 29. UWGB's season ended with a 3-1 loss to UIC in the Horizon League Championship game. Along with teammate JC Banks, Ricketts led the Phoenix in scoring with 13 points. Next year, his goal is to aid the Phoenix in winning that elusive conference title and making a trip to the NCAA tournament. "The team is building and I'm happy to be a part of the building process," Ricketts said. "The future of this team is looking good and it's going in the right direction." A pre-business administration major at UWGB, Ricketts still wants to continue playing soccer past his senior season of soccer next fall. Poitras has no doubt that Ricketts has what it takes to play soccer for a living. "Tos has had a great career here, he's a great athlete who has developed into a tremendous soccer player," Poitras said. "He'll be a professional soccer player in the next year or so. He'll play his senior year with us, but after that I'd assume shortly after that he'll be a full-time professional and getting paid a decent wage to make a living at it." Last week, UWGB midfielder Dan O'Brien signed a professional contract to play for the Minnesota Thunder of the United Soccer League's First Division this summer - the first Phoenix men's soccer player to sign a pro contract in roughly 10 years, according to Poitras. Ricketts hopes to be the next. "I'm looking to get my name out there to European clubs," Ricketts said. "Somewhere to go after I get done playing University, so I can continue my career. To play professionally, that's basically what I'm striving for."