There was a time when soccer was not the only sport in Tom Perevegyencev’s life. A time when crosses, headers and free kicks did not dominate the Moscow native’s mind.

That time was more than a decade ago, when Perevegyencev played tennis, per his parent’s wishes. But eventually, his original passion called him back.

‘I decided, one day I just woke up and said, ‘soccer is my sport, tennis isn’t my sport,” said Perevegyencev, a senior forward for the Syracuse men’s soccer team. ‘Tennis was more my parent’s choice.’

Perevegyencev and the rest of the Orange (1-6 overall, 0-2 Big East) hit the road this weekend for a game against Providence tonight and Connecticut on Sunday.

The path to playing soccer at Syracuse began when Perevegyencev was 5 years old, when he got his first taste of the game playing as a goalie for a club team. He also started playing tennis (exclusively, at one point), but traded in his racquet for soccer cleats.

As he grew up, Perevegyencev traveled a great deal because of his father’s business. He lived in Italy, Hungary and his native Russia for periods of five to seven years at a time and played soccer at each stop.

It was in Italy that he accomplished what he considers to be the crowning achievement of his still-young career.

‘I was able to play soccer in Italy for a very popular team, for their youth team,’ Perevegyencev said. ‘That was my biggest accomplishment so far. My second-biggest accomplishment was being able to play Division I soccer in the U.S.’

Though playing soccer at a major American university is near the top of Perevegyencev’s personal achievement list, he did not originally come to the United States for that reason. His primary goal was to study and complete his education, knowing that he would walk on to the soccer team at whichever school he attended.

Perevegyencev joined the men’s soccer team in January 2005 but did not play in any games until the 2007 season. He quickly developed into one of the Orange’s primary goal-scorers, finishing second on the squad in points (11) and assists (three), and tied for second in goals (four) that season.

As a sophomore in 2007, Perevegyencev played in 17 matches but started only four games. In 2008, that number decreased to one start. Despite the limited starts, he still managed to tie for the team lead in goals (six) and was third on the team in points (12). He also recorded the first two-goal game of his career on Aug. 29 against Canisius, with both goals coming within 1:25 of each other.

So far this season, Perevegyencev has started every game for Syracuse. Heading into this weekend’s games, he’s tied for the team lead in goals (3) and points (7) through SU’s first seven games.

Head coach Dean Foti has been there every step of the way for Perevegyencev’s evolution from walk-on to premier player.

‘Tommy’s put in a lot of hard work since he got here to develop himself into a goal scorer,’ Foti said. ‘When he first got here he didn’t play a whole lot, and he’s had to work hard in practice to really refine the skill that he has. He definitely has that goal scorer’s touch and mentality that comes from being around the game his whole life.’

Perevegyencev’s parents live overseas, but he still speaks to them on an almost daily basis. Though his parents wanted him to play tennis all those years ago, today they support him from afar playing the game he loves. They even have ambitions for him to play professional soccer when his education is finished here in the States.

‘They’re excited, but they just want me to achieve higher levels,’ Perevegyencev said. ‘They want me to try to go play pro. The parents always want something better than what the kid has. They know I love the sport, and they’re supporting me.’

Perevegyencev said he wants to finish his career at Syracuse on a high note and either enter the Major League Soccer Draft or play professionally in Europe.

Regardless of the path he chooses, Foti sees a bright future ahead for his star senior.

‘If you score goals, that’s a commodity,’ Foti said. ‘People will take notice. We’ll see how the season unfolds. If he can prove that he can score goals consistently, I’m pretty sure there will probably be some interest.’

azmeola@syr.edu

Published on September 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm