The clock says 96:42, and MNUFC2 is down 2-1.
It’s been a come-from-behind battle for Minnesota, with Houston Dynamo 2 notching two goals in the first 40 minutes. Forward and captain Luke Hille was the one to bring the team back to a one-goal deficit in the 41st, but with less than a minute remaining in stoppage time, things are looking dire.
96:43. Muba Nour breaks out on a run up the left flank, a last-ditch effort. He sends the ball into the box, and a slew of players converges on it, desperate to score, desperate to save.
96:50: Hille sees his chance in the chaos and takes it. Houston’s keeper isn’t fast enough. 2-2. It’s headed to a shootout, and Minnesota wins it.
This is Hille’s lifeblood: the thrill of the game, the battle on the pitch, the constant pushing and growth that comes with being a professional athlete.
“There’s no better feeling in the world than putting it in the back of the net for your team,” he said.
The equalizer marked the latest goal in MNUFC2 history, scored by the same striker who logged the earliest goal in MNUFC2 history in the second minute of a match against Colorado earlier this season. As if those stats aren’t impressive enough, Hille leads the club in scoring with nine goals, tied for fifth in MLS NEXT Pro. He’s tied for the league lead in shots on target with 26, leads in headed shots with 21, and is tied in third for PK goals with three. All this over the course of 17 games.
“That’s been Luke Hille since he was here, day one, on trial and in preseason,” said MNUFC2 Head Coach Jeremy Hall. “The intensity and the love to play the game and the love to compete is just natural to him.”
That love was fostered young. Hille grew up in North Carolina, coming from a family of athletes, though not necessarily a soccer one.
“I think [my parents] just signed me up to get me busy when I was like, two years old,” Hille said. “And ever since then I was juggling other sports as well, but soccer was my main gig. It was definitely a dream to go pro early on.”
He went through the North Carolina FC Academy program and signed an amateur contract with the first team at 16, from there making his way up to the college soccer scene. After three years playing for North Carolina State University, he transferred to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Throughout his college career, being so close to home, his family was able to come out to support him at games. But Hille knew he’d have to leave eventually to pursue his professional career. The only question was where.
MNUFC’s sporting staff uses carefully crafted algorithms to explore potential recruits who aren’t chosen in the SuperDraft, and Hille’s college stats made him stand out. Between the numbers and watching Hille operate in his college environment, he was a prime candidate. According to the reports put together by the recruiting team, he checked every box: good player, good person, intense, competitive, multidimensional. A leader, a scorer. A Loon.
“I could tell from day one that this was the guy we needed,” Hall said. “This was the guy that has a bright future because of how he approaches every day. And he’s only gotten better, right?”
1,218 miles from Cary, North Carolina, Hille hit the ground running in Blaine. By the time the season opener rolled around in March, he’d landed on the starting lineup, and he wore the captain’s armband for the first time in May.
“Just coming here to an MLS club, there’s so many eyes watching,” Hille said. “I was just honored to wear the jersey, have my name on the back. It was surreal.”
Minnesota wasn’t where he thought he’d wind up, but he fell into rhythm with the team like he’d been there for years, showing up to work every day and knowing that this was the next step in a career that could take him anywhere. It’s far from home (and a whole lot colder), but the Twos are a team that, according to Hille and teammates Alpha Kabia and Momoh Kamara, are incredibly accepting. These are players he’s happy to work alongside.
“As a leader and a person, he just brings so many intangibles that not everybody has,” Hall said. “So we’re fortunate and lucky to have him in our group, and just excited to work with him.”
Coming to Minnesota has given Hille the opportunity to learn alongside players he sees as role models who are constantly elevating the level of play on the Twos pitch.
“There’s so many great players on the first team that are coming down and raising the standard, and ultimately that’s where I want to be,” Hille said, “but I know that my timing is perfect right now, where I’m at.”
And it doesn’t hurt that he got to see Lionel Messi — whom he has both on his shin guards and on a poster in his childhood bedroom — at Allianz Field. (And witness the Loons beat Miami 4-1.)
Hille’s hard work has already earned him a taste of that first-team experience, making his debut on a short-term call-up against St. Louis. He remembers being nervous traveling with big-time players from all over the world, debuting in a stadium in front of 25,000 fans, but the experience is one he wouldn’t trade for the world.
“Just something I can continue to build on,” he said of his debut. “I’m thankful for the whole club — the staff, second team, and the first-team staff for believing me and trusting me to do the job.” He has another opportunity to join the first team tonight on a short-term agreement for the Leagues Cup match against Atlético de San Luis.
“I’m a competitor. I’m a winner,” Hille said. “I just love battling, and I love playing soccer. That’s why I’m here, and I hope that shows.”
