by Scott Dean – UK Media Relations

Senior Jamal Shteiwi sat quietly in his seat, waiting for the plane to depart as the Kentucky men?s soccer team returned home from its 3-0 victory at Buffalo. Little did he know it, but his teammates were planning a small display of affection for their senior captain.

Over the intercom, the pilot welcomed everyone on board, then without warning, wished Shteiwi a happy 23rd birthday and proceeded to lead the plane in a rousing rendition of ?Happy Birthday.? It wasn?t the end of his birthday trip home as a tunnel of love awaited Shteiwi as he exited the plane.

?The team sang me happy birthday and I got a little tunnel as I came out,? Shteiwi said. ?Somebody tried to take a few cheap shots in the tunnel. But it?s all part of how the team interacts. We mess around with each other.?

It is a camaraderie that has enveloped the Wildcats. A special bond that has formed over two months of going to battle with each other, not just in games, but every day in practice. It is something that extends well beyond the field for Shteiwi.

?There isn?t really just one person on the team that I?m close with. Everyone on the team is tight We?ve really come together.?

As the team captain, it is Shteiwi who sets the example for the youthful 2004 squad, which features six freshman and five sophomores on its travel roster. The leadership role isn?t something he has always been comfortable with.

?It has been hard because I?m not a very vocal person to begin with. I kind of had to change my role. I?ve always tried to lead by example, but now I have to be vocal to get people going and to try to lead us out of rough patches. It was a hard thing to try to change, but I think I?m getting better at it every day.?

Shteiwi remembers what it was like to be the new guy on the team. It was something he went through twice.

As a talented player at Summit Country Day in Cincinnati, Ohio, Shteiwi was pursued by many of the top soccer programs in the region. After narrowing his choices to Notre Dame and Indiana, he decided on the Hoosiers, who were the two-time defending national champions at the time.

?I was kind of blinded by their success. Obviously I wanted to go to a top program and at that time, it was Indiana. I bought into their tradition and success.?

However, upon arrival in Bloomington, Shteiwi found out his high school success didn?t guarantee playing time at the top level of collegiate soccer. He was redshirted.

?It very tough and I wasn?t expecting it. Not playing for a whole year is very hard on a lot of things. It affects your ego and the mental part of your game. I was almost in a state of depression.?

That experience led Shteiwi to reconsider his soccer future. He began to take a second look at the Irish program. But he added a second school, Kentucky, to the fold for non-soccer reasons.

?It didn?t hurt that my girlfriend went to Kentucky. That had me looking in UK?s direction,? Shteiwi admitted. His girlfriend is Lauren Russell, a former women?s soccer player for the Big Blue.

Shteiwi was a player that had the Wildcat coaching staff never really recruited. He had committed early in his senior year to Indiana and the coaches felt he had never really considered Kentucky. But then came an unexpected call.

?It came totally out of the blue,? Kentucky coach Ian Collins said. ?He came and visited us and the next thing we knew, he was at UK. I think it was a good fit for him and it has been a good fit for us.?

For the second time in as many years, Shteiwi was going to have to prove himself. It was a process that didn?t come as easy as he would have liked.

?When I was in my first year here, I was a bit arrogant. I thought I was better than I was and that I could get by on talent alone,? Shteiwi said. ?At the end of that season, I realized I wasn?t getting it done and I needed to step up everything.

?I was confused, but Coach Collins sat me down and told me the truth with what was going on. It gave me the kick in the butt that I needed.?

With his first season serving as a wake up call, Shteiwi rededicated himself and has since become one of the most decorated players in Wildcat history. The program has risen with him. Last season, Kentucky won its third conference title in four years and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

There, awaiting the Wildcats was Indiana. Hours later ? 105 minutes and 46 seconds of soccer action later to be exact ? Kentucky?s season was over. It was bitter loss for everyone, but it stung a little extra for Shteiwi. His former teammates went on to win the national championship.

?I?d be lying if I said that people weren?t telling me that I should have stayed at Indiana and won a championship. But, I?m very happy with my decision now and I don?t think I would have developed into the player ? and the person ? that I am now if I had stayed there.?

It?s Shteiwi?s way of crediting Collins for his success.

?I think, for three years, I?ve challenged him every day,? said Collins. ?I?ve been pretty hard on him. I?ve tried to get him to understand the importance of mental toughness and leadership by example. Everyday, he has responded to the challenge.?

For the highly competitive Shteiwi, part of that challenge has been to mold Kentucky into a national power. It?s a task he takes as much pride in as the things that he might have accomplished at Indiana.

?It would be an amazing thing to get to the Final Four with this team. When I first got here, we were an up-and-coming team, but we were nowhere near that level. It would be extremely gratifying to say I made my mark on this program and took it to the next level.?

Shteiwi, the 2003 MAC Player of the Year is definitely doing his part. He has already surpassed his career-high for goals and has either scored or assisted on 60 percent of Kentucky?s goals this season.

Behind his leadership this year, the Wildcats have set school records for the longest unbeaten streak and longest home unbeaten streaks in school history. And the team continues to press forward.

?Jamal has given us a real go-to player. He?s a guy that wants the ball in difficult situations and makes things happen,? Collins said. ?The players respond to him.?

That response has led Kentucky to the brink of places the program has not yet ventured, but destined to go. It is a destiny with which Shteiwi is intimately linked.