The Penn State Behrend men’s soccer team has a lot of unfinished business heading into the 2018 campaign. The team lost a heartbreaking match in the AMCC Championship last season to the Medaille College Mavericks which kept them from reaching the NCAA Tournament. Fortunately, this team returns a good majority of their players who have many games under their belt. The defense returns three of their four starters which is one of the best collective defensive units in the AMCC. Defensive backs Ryan Maurer and Nick Schwarzel will continue to dominate on both sides of the ball by serving as attacking defenders who can score some points and help goalkeeper Chris Ralph keep balls out of the back of the net. For Senior Ryan Maurer, a 2015 graduate of Seneca Valley High School, playing college soccer was not always on the agenda.

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Growing up in the Pittsburgh Area, Maurer played a lot of baseball growing up while also playing soccer. “Baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I played on some outstanding baseball teams growing up that qualified for the Pony League World Series when I was 13 and 14. I had to choose going into my freshman year whether to attend Junior Varsity soccer tryouts or go with my team to California for the World Series. It was not a tough decision, and I actually picked baseball and played on the 8th and 9th grade school soccer team.” However, once he started playing soccer that season, he realized he had a future in the sport of soccer and his passion for the sport was greater than he previously realized.

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Heading into his Sophomore year of high school, Maurer ended his baseball career to focus his attention on soccer. “Attending a large high school like Seneca Valley made it necessary to specialize in a sport. Two sport athletes were few and far between” Maurer said. While Maurer focused his attention on soccer, going to a high school with so many athletes made it challenging to play for the varsity team. “I actually only lettered one time in my high school career. It was a grind just to make the cut and get onto the field. However, it instilled a great work ethic in me and helped prepare me for college soccer.

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Coming to Behrend as a Freshman, Maurer found himself as an alternate but understood a larger role would be coming for him in the near future. In his sophomore campaign, Maurer became a key component to the Lions defense and continues to be an important part to this day. His journey to Behrend was unpredictable until his Senior year of high school when he decided to visit the campus and look into some of the programs they offer.

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Maurer’s parents Kelly and Mark both played a role in Maurer choosing to becoming an Interdisciplinary Business with Engineering Studies major. “My mom is an engineer who attended Penn State, and my dad is a successful businessman. They both agreed that IBE is the perfect major for me and for my future. It has introduced me to an excellent career path, and I am happy to say that after interning for Trane this summer, and I have accepted a full time job with them upon graduating in May.”

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In addition to his parents, Maurer spoke highly of the chair of the IBE Department Chair Dr. Diane Parente. “Dr. Parente was the biggest influencer to me and my parents when I was debating whether to attend University Park or Behrend. She sold my parents and I on this career choice, and she has helped me stay on track and be successful in my academics.”

Maurer’s Junior Varsity coach Seth Verba was a big influence and help to him in his high school career. He sites Verba as one of the people who helped him emerge as a leader in Junior Varsity and again a few years later in Varsity. This leadership quality has followed him to Behrend both on the pitch and also in his career.

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Maurer has many memories over the last three years, but the trip he will never forget was to Europe going into his Freshman season. He will be going again this May to conclude his collegiate career. “Traveling to Europe and playing the game over there was one of the best experiences of my life. I actually had to play goalie in Iceland and had a shutout. It was also really nice playing in a more European style match which is the way soccer is supposed to be played. The trip was certainly memorable for a lot of reasons and I look forward to next summer heading back over again to play.”

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Ryan Maurer will have one more season to lock up a second AMCC Championship for his career. W The Lions have the personnel and coaching in place to make a strong run at qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and also making some noise in it. “These are some of our biggest goals and one of my personal goals. It would be awesome to end my career on such a strong note.” It is important to note however that Ryan Maurer is a student first and an athlete second. His success to this point in his business career truly outweighs all of his accomplishments on the field. Wherever Maurer’s future takes him, he is sure to find success for many years to come.