Men’s Soccer Standout Keith Haselhoff Proud to Call Carnegie Mellon Home

Sept. 1, 2009 - 

When Keith Haselhoff began his journey into higher education, he never could have imagined that a few years later, he’d be the lynchpin in the middle of the field for the Carnegie Mellon University men’s soccer team.

Haselhoff spent the first two years of his college life as a student at Duquesne University. Although he was accepted at Carnegie Mellon out of McKeesport High School, Haselhoff elected to concentrate his studies in mathematics at Duquesne.

A soccer standout in high school, Haselhoff hoped to make the team at Duquesne, but was never given a real chance with the Dukes.

“I talked to the coaches at Duquesne, but they looked at my weight (6-1, 150lbs.) and told me I was too light to play Division I soccer,” Haselhoff said. “They told me I’d have to sit, hit the weight room and that maybe my junior or senior year I might get some time. That kind of discouraged me.”

Haselhoff was also discouraged in the classroom, where his course of study didn’t leave him feeling satisfied. After consulting with his parents, Haselhoff decided to apply to the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon as a transfer student with designs on an education in engineering.

“I applied to Pitt and CMU during my sophomore year. Pitt got back to me pretty quickly and I was going to go there, but I heard from Carnegie Mellon in the middle of the summer. After talking it over with my parents, we decided CMU was the better bet,” Haselhoff said.

In August 2007, Haselhoff enrolled at Carnegie Mellon and decided to try his hand at collegiate soccer. After receiving his acceptance letter, Haselhoff called childhood friend and former Tartan Al Penska to see what Division III soccer was all about.

Haselhoff liked what he heard from Penska and joined the Tartans for the 2007 season. Although he wasn’t an impact player his first year with the program, the midfielder was a major reason the Tartans advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship last fall.

“Keith’s work rate in the middle of the field is tremendous. He allows our team to play a certain way and he’s vital to our success,” said second-year head coach Arron Lujan. “The work that he does on the field allows our All-Americans to be All-Americans. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he makes everyone better.”

Now entering his third year as a mechanical engineering student at Carnegie Mellon, Haselhoff has also excelled in the classroom, where he has a 3.84 GPA and was named to the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team last fall. He also achieved first-team all-conference accolades last season and was named to the University Athletic Association’s (UAA) inaugural Presidents Scholar-Athlete Team.

Haselhoff will graduate in December and has already received an offer from Westinghouse to design secondary systems of nuclear power plants.

In his final year with the Tartans, Haselhoff will serve as one of the team’s captains – an honor he hadn’t expected.

“It’s because of the way he plays and because all of the guys respect him so much,” Lujan said. “It’s about the amount of effort he gives and how well he does in the classroom. He can do it all.”

Two years away from competitive soccer is a long time, but Haselhoff has quickly regained his touch and improved to become a tremendous Division III player. His presence on the field is one reason the Tartans believe they can challenge for the UAA title and a long run in the NCAA Championship.

But most important to the Pittsburgh native is being able to see his family on a regular basis and even get back home to watch younger sister Kelli play soccer for McKeesport.

“I was able to get to three or four of her games last year. I keep telling her if she tries hard, I’ll talk to the Carnegie Mellon women’s soccer coach for her,” Haselhoff said.

But before Kelli starts thinking about college, Haselhoff is focused on finishing his own career in style.

“We’re definitely shooting for some big goals,” Haselhoff said. “We would definitely like to win the UAA and the ultimate would be an NCAA Championship.”