Keenan Carroll isn’t quite done with his soccer career.
A 2010 graduate of Green River High School, Carroll recently signed to play at goalie for the University of Southern Virginia’s men’s soccer team.
A three-year starter at goalkeeper for the Wolves, Carroll has spent the past two seasons as a member of the Laramie County Community College Soccer team.
Carroll said the soccer program at the school is relatively new and has just been added to the Capital Athletic Conference for NCAA Division III programs.
“The program has a brand new coach that is looking to bring a new philosophy to the team and after one year has already made a huge turn for the better with the program, which I am really excited to help be a big part of,” he said.
His initial contact from the school over 1,800 miles from Green River was through a former teammate at LCCC who is now the strength and conditioning coach for the Knights and he gave a good recommendation to the head coach.
Carroll and his wife Ashlyn visited the campus at the beginning of November and spent nearly a week meeting with the team and exploring the campus.
“It really is a beautiful campus in an amazing area that is rich with history,” he said.
The school was also the number one choice for Carroll because it is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints and holds an honor code.
Carroll served his mission from 2011 to 2013 in the Tempe, Ariz. Mission.
“After returning home from my LDS mission, that was something I really wanted to be apart of when I moved onto a four year school,” he said.
LARAMIE COUNTY
Carroll will graduate from LCCC in May and said he’s loved being part of the soccer program.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play against the top junior college schools in the country and have received some very valuable training from great coaches along the way. It was definitely a humbling experience with a lot of growing pains along the way but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said.
Looking back at his two years at the school, he said one of his favorite memories was when he got to go back to Green River and play against Western Wyoming Community College.
“We might have lost but it was fun being able to play back in Green River in front of my family in my hometown. Not very many players get that opportunity after they graduate high school,” he said.
Carroll also is a student senator at LCCC. He was recently elected as the ex officio member of the Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees.
GRHS
Growing up in Green River, Carroll trained and competed with the Wyoming Olympic Development team and during high school, he also traveled and competed with the Park City Extreme and Salt Lake City’s Sparta teams.
Carroll said the best thing about playing soccer in Green River was the opportunity he got to play with some great soccer players like Chris Nieters, Marcos Munoz, Cody Smart, Colter Rood and a few others that he to travel around the country with and get training and play in a few top leagues and tournaments with.
“Without that exposure to top competition and players I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the increased speed, quality, and physicality of play that are apart of the collegiate level,” he said. “Of course it helped that I had coaches that gave me an opportunity to show that I could play so that I could be apart of those teams and programs.”
Carroll added his parents Roger and Richelle also had a huge role as well helping him find funding for the opportunities.
He said his wife and dad also helped a ton as well in the off seasons to help keep me in shape and reach my goals as well.
While being able to play two more years of soccer is a plus, Carroll said his biggest goals are to get a good education at Southern Virginia so he can get a good job afterwards to help support his wife and their future family.
“I also hope to help SVU reach the national tournament become one of the top teams in that region,” he said.
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