A tall task: German defender protects the Saints

Mats Lange left Krefeld, Germany, to play college soccer at Carroll.

At 6-foot-4, he has been hard to miss ever since.

Lange, a sophomore studying international business relations, grew up in Krefeld and spent his early career playing for SC St. Tönis, a local soccer club, before making the leap overseas to join Carroll’s soccer program.

The transition wasn’t just about geography, he said. Adjusting to a new country, a new team and a full course load all at once tested him in ways professional-level training back home never had.

“People assume the height is the whole story,” Lange said, “but I worked hard to make sure it wasn’t the only thing I brought to the pitch.”

That effort has translated into a steady defensive presence for Carroll. Earning a starting role on the reserve team ranks among his proudest achievements, he said, not because of his size, but because he built a game to match it.

One memory from his time at SC St. Tönis stands out above the rest.

“(I still remember) the first time I started a match for SC St. Tönis,” Lange said. “Nerves like that don’t really fade from memory. I still remember exactly how the pitch smelled that day.”

Off the field, Lange keeps a routine shaped by years of early training sessions. He described himself as a morning person, a habit he said hasn’t faded even on days without practice.

Saturdays are reserved for matches. Sundays are for sleep, coursework, and long walks that tend to turn into Pokémon Go sessions, a habit he picked up back in Krefeld – and carried to Carroll.

He also plays Clash Royale in his downtime, something he described with a laugh as more consuming than he’d like to admit.

“It’s eating more of my mental energy than it should for a grown man who plays professional soccer for a living,” Lange said.

His teammates have taken noe of the habit. False Pokémon Go sightings near the training grounds have become a running joke on the team, Lange said, and one that never fails to make him laugh.

Pokémon is reserved for downtime, but Lange’s tastes shift depending on the moment. German hip-hop gets him ready before matches, and he gravitates toward underdog sports movies, a genre he called almost required viewing given his career path.

Food remains one of the clearest links to home. His favorite meal is his mom’s Rheinischer Sauerbraten, a traditional German pot roast, a dish he says he misses most while traveling for away games far from Krefeld.

Family plays a central role in his life, particularly his mother, whom he calls after difficult matches.

“That’s enough to reset my head after a rough training session,” Lange said.

Lange said he has come to rely more heavily on his parents for support, especially during the adjustment to moving abroad.

Balancing that family connection with the demands of training and university life has not always been simple. Coursework sometimes takes a back seat to his athletic schedule, he said, a trade-off he is still learning to manage.

Still, he sees his business degree shaping how he understands the sport itself. Contract structures and sponsorship deals now catch his attention in ways they never did before he enrolled, he said.

Lange also pushed back on assumptions people make about him. His height, he said, leads people to expect an aggressive personality off the field, when in reality, he considers himself one of the calmest members of the team.

Looking ahead, Lange hopes to finish his degree and stay connected to soccer in some capacity, whether through club management, sports business or another path entirely.

He also values consistency in the people around him, a standard he said became clearer once he moved far from the friends and family he grew up with.

For now, he remains focused on the fundamentals: reliability, steady progress in the classroom, and staying grounded despite standing a head above most people in the room.

“I want to be the guy people can actually count on,” Lange said, “not just the tall one.”