By Jocelyn Sterling Staff Writer sterling10@up.edu
Former University of Portland soccer standouts Kasey Keller and Nate Jaqua returned to their alma mater Friday night when they defeated the Pilots 4-1 at Merlo Field during a Seattle Sounders FC exhibition game. It was an exciting return for the two successful alumni to revel in the place that started their careers, and for the current UP players to play against professionals from whom they can learn a lot.
"When I got to the game it felt kinda surreal," sophomore UP player Frankie Lopez said of playing the professional team. "It was a fun game and it helped us; we took a lot away from it."
Bill Irwin, UP's head coach and former assistant coach to Keller and Jaqua, thought it was tremendous to see former players come back and play at UP, especially players who have done so well. Keller and Jaqua displayed to the current players what they can aspire to achieve in the future, Irwin said.
Both Keller and Jaqua said how great and special it was to be back on UP's campus playing soccer again.
Keller, who attended UP from 1988 to 1991, signed with the Sounders in 2008 after playing in Europe for 16 years, including three of the world's top leagues: England's Premier League, Spain's La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga. He has played in four World Cups, captained the 1996 Olympics team, and has been named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year three times. During his time at UP, Keller was a three-time All-American and was named the collegiate goalkeeper of the year in 1991. Keller remains UP's leader in career shutouts and goals against average.
Nate Jacqua attended UP from 2000-2002 and was a two-time All-American during his time as a Pilot. He played with the Major League Soccer team the Chicago Fire for four years and was the MLS All-Star in 2006. He also played for the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. Jaqua has been part of the U.S. national team three times.
Both Keller and Jaqua gave a large amount of credit for their success to their time at UP.
"UP was the biggest reason why I am where I am today," Keller said.
Jaqua, while looking out at Merlo Field, agreed. "The three years here were very well spent and I contribute it greatly to what I've become," he said.
Keller and Jaqua mentioned the great influence their UP coaches had on them. Keller said that the late Clive Charles and Irwin's preparation is how he was able to play soccer after college. Jaqua said that Charles impacted him on and off of the field. Both players had great admiration for the legendary Charles.
Irwin is proud of what his former players have accomplished, and said that it feels good knowing he had a little bit to do with it. "They had talent coming in (to UP) and I'd like to think we helped enhanced that," Irwin said.
He also mentioned not only Keller and Jaqua's skills on the field, but also their kind personalities. Irwin mentioned that Keller is a good benefactor to UP's soccer problem, and that he is not only a great ambassador to soccer, but also to the school as a whole.
Keller and Jaqua's support of UP's soccer was evident through their encouraging words about the game on Friday night. Keller mentioned how he thought the UP team played well and "fought back" after Jaqua scored the first goal within the first four minutes of the game. He said the competition of the game was what he hoped for.
This was true for the UP players as well. Although UP was defeated, Lopez said the team walked off of the field with their heads held high and with full confidence that when they play other college teams they will know where they stand and that the Pilots won't be easy to beat.
"We did a good job, we made it tough for them," Lopez said of their defense against the Sounders.
Lopez, who was the only player to make a shot at Keller during the first half when Keller was in, was excited about the opportunity to play up against a famous athlete. He was not surprised that Keller saved the ball, but was thrilled at the fact he got the chance to shoot at him.
"Before the game I envisioned what it would be like scoring on him (Keller)," Lopez said. "Scoring on him, there are no words to describe it, but shooting on him was just as great of a feeling."
Junior Logan Emory, the UP player who scored the lone goal, said he never played against anyone as great as Keller, but he was not as intimidated as he thought he would be.
"Once you're playing you're not even noticing," Emory said of Keller. "During the game they're not your heroes, they're your competition."
Still, Emory said scoring a goal was above what he expected, but would have been a little more rewarding if it had occurred in the first half when Keller was in the game.
The UP players saw their time playing with successful MLS players as a great opportunity to test where the Pilots are in comparison to a professional team. It goes to show all the work UP put in to getting to this point, Lopez said.
For Emory, it was interesting to see the success of Keller and Jaqua and to know that they were once where Emory and his fellow players are today.
"The Sounders are all where we want to be someday," he said.
Lopez also mentioned his aspirations to be on an MLS team in the future, and he acknowledged how monumental Friday's game was.
"We will all remember this game for the rest of our lives, no matter what happens in the future," Lopez said.
