CHICAGO, IL (May 18, 2009) - When Isaac Lee returns to South Korea to play professional soccer this summer, he will leave North Park University as one of the most accomplished athletes in the school's history, says Coach John Born.

Lee has distinguished himself on and off the field as a four-year letter winner, a four-time First Team All-CCIW selection as well as NSCAA All-Region, a 2006 All-American, a 2007 CoSIDA Academic All-Region selection, a two-time CCIW Academic All-Conference member, a 2006 CCIW champion and the 2009 North Park Male Athlete of the Year.

He played on the development team for the Chicago Fire of the Major Soccer League and just missed making the cut for the South Korean Olympic team.

United Soccer League teams in America wanted to sign him after his strong performance at a combine, where he was the only Division III player to participate. He decided to return to Korea to be closer to family and because the pay will be better, he says.

Lee actually was born in Madison, Wisconsin, but his parents returned to South Korea months later. Lee came to the United States when he was 15 so that he could play soccer and receive a strong education. His parents - both professors - were concerned that if he stayed in Korea, his academics would suffer because high school athletes take few classes.

Instead, Lee attended Marmion Academy in Aurora, Illinois, a boarding school. Although Lee would do well academically in college, he struggled in high school because he spoke little English when he arrived in the United States.

Division I schools such as Indiana and Ohio State universities recruited Lee, but he would have had to sit out a year because he did not meet the NCAA scholastic requirements, he says.

Born had met Lee and recruited him. "A lot of coaches say, 'I'll help you,' but Coach John - I felt like I could trust him." It also helped that Born was serious about his Christian faith and that his wife is Korean, Lee adds.

Lee came to North Park in 2003 and played a year for the Vikings but then left to play professionally in Germany for two years. Although he received a good soccer education, Lee came to believe he needed to get back to the classroom, too.

Although Lee could have returned to a Division I school, he chose North Park. A sense of loyalty to Born, the team, and a good experience at the university led him back to the school, he says.

Lee will finish his final two summer classes for his bachelor's degree in exercise science before he returns to Korea. Although he looks forward to the next chapter in his life, Lee says he will have fond memories of his time here.

"I have really had a great experience at North Park," Lee says.

Born is grateful that Lee chose North Park. "It's been a big privilege to have him," he says. "He has given us a lot of credibility in the soccer community."

Lee is not the only soccer play to have distinguished himself at the school recently. Players from the team have been chosen as the university's "Senior Male Athlete of the Year" in six of the past seven years, including the last five years. Those players include Lee (2009), Matt Bond (2008), Austin Person (2007), Darryl Payne (2006), Henrik Wihlborg (2005) and Greger Svensson (2003).

(SF)