Despite the lack of collective success this season, the NC State women‘s soccer team found a bright spot in its back line. Freshman defender Hannah Keogh proved to be one of head coach Tim Santoro’s strongest defenders throughout the season.
A San Diego native, Keogh made her way to North Carolina this fall knowing she would be competing in the toughest soccer conference against some of the best teams in the nation. But she did not just come for the high-level soccer program; she is also an engineering major, and NC State’s highly esteemed engineering program made her decision that much easier.
Before making the trip across the country, Keogh played club soccer in California for Del Mar Carmel Valley alongside her current teammates and fellow freshmen goalkeeper Sydney Wootten and midfielder Crystal Cordova.
“It’s great playing with girls I already know,” Keogh said. “Especially with Sydney because she’s a goalkeeper and I’m a defender, and it’s nice to have that comfortability with her behind me.”
Keogh said the three San Diego girls did not make the decision to attend NC State together, but their friendships have gotten even stronger since making the cross-country move.
As part of Santoro’s first fully recruited class, Keogh sees a bright future for her team.
“I think it’s exciting to be chosen as a part of the change,” Keogh said. “Overall, I had a pretty solid season, and I think the team did progress from the previous season, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.”
As a true freshman, Keogh is going to be part of a successful program-building team in her next three years as a part of the Pack, and she knows that being a close-knit team is key to the team’s success.
“We were focusing a lot on team building this year and getting closer as a team,” Keogh said. “We also established program standards that we are really going to stick to that should help us positively change the program.”
Outside of soccer Keogh spends a lot of time catching up on sleep and hanging out with her friends. But, as an intended mechanical engineering major at one of the top ranked engineer schools in the country, she has to spend a lot of time working toward her academic success.
“I have to log eight hours of study hall every week, and that forces me to sit down in a quiet place and do my work,” Keogh said. “I also have tutors that help me when I’m struggling. In high school I didn’t have much time for school work either, so I’ve learned time management over the years.”
On her club team in high school, she played more of a center back role on her three-man defense, so her offensive responsibility has dramatically increased since coming to NC State.
“The biggest change for me was that I was allowed to go forward and attack,” Keogh said. “The biggest thing I would definitely like to work on for next season is my attacking game. I didn’t have much experience with it in high school, so I’d definitely like to improve there.”
NC State only has room for improvement, and the addition of key defenders like Keogh make the future of the soccer team promising.
