After college, most students are thrown into the "real world," grabbing interviews wherever possible in hopes of finding a job or career.

Anthony Calvano, however, is not quite ready to put away the shin guards.

Calvano, a former Penn State men's soccer player, will get to continue his soccer career with the United Soccer League's Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

When Calvano first graduated, he hoped he could extend his soccer career beyond college. His coaching staff at Penn State tried to get him a tryout with professional teams, to no avail.

When it appeared soccer might not pan out, he decided to start looking for work as a teacher. In his second interview, Calvano received a job in Fairfax, Va., teaching sixth graders.

But a call that Friday from the Riverhounds changed his career plans indefinitely.

"I got a contract offer from the Riverhounds that Friday," Calvano said. "I was already nervous about teaching, and then I got the call from them. It was kind of a shock, but it turned out to be a good shock."

Calvano signed a contract with the Riverhounds, but still had to explain to the school that he would not be taking the job. He went in the following Monday, which was supposed to be his first day as a teacher, to tell the administration.

"I told them I was going to play for the Riverhounds and they understood that I would never get a chance like this again," Calvano said. "They told me to keep in touch if the soccer thing didn't work out."

Calvano, a Penn State men's soccer team member from 2002-04, joins a Riverhounds team that was the Atlantic Division champion last year, posting a 19-3-1 record. Rich Salvini, an assistant coach for the Riverhounds, said his coaching staff has been watching Calvano for years and thought he would be a great fit for the Riverhounds style of play.

"He's got great physical toughness, he's very aggressive and he's got lots of talent and skills," Salvini said. "When he gets the ball he makes the simple play, which is the kind of players we look for."

It's Calvano's toughness that has gotten him this far. A standout in high school, Calvano turned down scholarship offers from small schools to come to Penn State.

After being cut in varsity tryouts his freshman year, Calvano joined Penn State's club team, where he helped elevate the team to a national championship and undefeated season.

In his sophomore year, Calvano tried out for the varsity squad but was cut --again.

That still didn't deter Calvano, who played club soccer for another year and helped take the team to another undefeated season.

After two years playing with the club team, Calvano finally made the men's team and helped the Lions win the Big Ten title in his first year with the team. He earned Big Ten All-Tournament team and All-Academic team honors in 2003 and started every game in his last two seasons.

Calvano will now take his game to the next level, but is trying to take the pressure in stride.

"I just look at this opportunity as another step in the right direction," he said. "It's professional soccer, so this will just make my game better and give me another chance to play competitive soccer."

Playing in the USL will be the highest competition that Calvano has ever had to face. Salvini said that Calvano will be able to succeed, even with the pressure.

"It'll be a testing year for him, no doubt about it," Salvini said. "The competition will be up a couple levels of play, but we think he's good enough to play on it. It'll be up to him on how successful he can be."

So it looks like Calvano will be stepping out of the classroom and into his familiar cleats for a while. But Calvano still realizes that he may see himself in front of a packed classroom once his soccer career is over.

"I'm going to take this opportunity for what it's worth," Calvano said. "I just want to play as long as I can, while I still can. Soccer's my first love, so that's what I'm looking towards now."