When the Carolina RailHawks’ season concluded last September, Kupono Low’s offseason itinerary included coaching back home in Fremont, Calif., and taking his daughter to school every day.

Nowhere on his radar was the likelihood of playing international soccer, much less doing so for a national team outside the United States.

But earlier this month, Low received a call from Colin Clarke, the head coach of the USL First Division’s Puerto Rico Islanders and the recently hired coach of the revived Puerto Rico national team, gauging his interest in playing for Puerto Rico.

“It was a bit exciting to be able to get international experience,” Low said last week by phone from San Juan, Puerto Rico. “I’m 29, so the window for playing for the U.S. was almost closed. When Colin Clarke gave me a call and wanted to know if I was interested, it didn’t take long for me — maybe two, three days. My conclusion was definitely. It gives me a chance to play international soccer.”

Low, who was born in Hawaii and raised in northern California, was aware that he was eligible to play for the team. Noah Delgado, whom Low played with in high school and college and is currently a member of the USL’s Islanders, talked with Low about playing for the Puerto Rican national team.

“He was considering being nationalized and being a part of the team,” Low said. “He gave me the lowdown. I really didn’t think it was a possibility for me as well.”

Because Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, all U.S. citizens are eligible for its national teams. The Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol, the commonwealth’s governing body, is recognized as a sovereign federation within CONCACAF, the regional federation encompassing North America and the Caribbean, and FIFA, the sport’s world governing body.

They only catch is that once a player is capped by Puerto Rico, he is no longer eligible to play for the U.S. national team. While Low felt his chances of playing for the U.S. were slipping away, RailHawks coach Scott Schweitzer said he believes the midfielder is good enough to get a shot with Team USA.

“He is maybe the most underrated player in the U.S,” Schweitzer said. “How he’s not playing MLS or overseas somewhere — we’re grateful that he’s here playing for us — but he’s an unbelievable player. He plays both ends of the field. He’s great offensively. He’s great defensively.”

The Puerto Rican national team has been dormant since 2005. It was revived for World Cup Qualifying, which begins later this spring.

Puerto Rico will play the Dominican Republic in a Stage 1 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier on March 26. The winner will move on to the second stage of qualification, and those games are scheduled to be played in June.

Puerto Rico has never qualified for the World Cup. Three or four teams in CONCACAF will earn bids to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Puerto Rico played two friendlies in Bermuda, on Jan. 16 and Jan. 18, and won them both. It was the first time Puerto Rico had won an international match since 1994. The team also played Trinidad and Tobago Saturday, a team that reached the 2006 World Cup, and earned a 2-2 draw. Low played 90 minutes in all three games, and he scored his first international goal against T&T.

Low does not stand to miss any regular-season games with the RailHawks as of right now. Carolina will still be in training camp when he leaves for the match against the Dominican Republic. If Puerto Rico wins, that could create a conflict in June. If he ends up having to leave for Puerto Rico, Low has the organization’s blessing.

“We’re going to miss him if he has to go,” Schweitzer said. “But to play at that high level is good.”

Low will enter his fifth professional season this year, his second with the RailHawks. Last season, he proved to be a valuable addition to Carolina. He was supposed to play for the Virginia Beach Mariners, but that franchise folded prior to the season. Low came to Cary, and his impact was immediate and long-lasting.

He scored the franchise’s first goal eight minutes into its regular-season home opener — a brilliant one-time line drive from the top of the box that was named the league’s goal of the week — last April. He finished the season with six goals and four assists for a team-leading 16 points, and his teammates voted him their MVP. He also led the team in minutes played (2,517).

With commitments to Carolina and Puerto Rico, Low will undoubtedly log even more minutes in 2008. Just how many depends on how far Puerto Rico advances in qualifying. In the current FIFA rankings, Puerto Rico is 196th out of 207 teams. Its chances of making it to South Africa for the World Cup in two years are slim. But Low is among the players who relish the opportunity to try and get there.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Low said. “I watch the World Cup every four years, and I wonder if I can do that. I wonder how I fare. I don’t see myself too far out of the league with some of the players in the World Cup and on the U.S. team that I’ve played with or against. Why can’t I?”