Keith Van Eron is a retired American soccer

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played one season in the American Soccer League and three in the North American Soccer League. He also played the first eleven seasons of Major Indoor Soccer League, winning the 1984 championship with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

. He was the 1986 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year.

Player

Van Eron attended

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

where he played soccer under Timo Liekoski. He had originally intended to play basketball at Hartwick, but joined the soccer team. He was a 1976 Honorable Mention (third team) All American. In 1977, Van Eron turned professional with the New York Apollo in the American Soccer League. He immediately proved his worth by being named a first team all star. The Apollos sold his contract to the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion t ...

, coached by Liekoski, of the North American Soccer League, two games into the 1978 season. He played nineteen games for an 8–11 record before the Hurricane acquired Paul Hammond from the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. The team then benched Van Eron and went 1–8 under Hammond. That fall, he signed with the Cincinnati Kids of the newly established Major Indoor Soccer League. Although he played one last outdoor season, in the fall of 1980, he moved indoors permanently when he signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

. In January 1981, the Wings traded him to the Philadelphia Fever. He moved to the

in the fall of 1981 and would remain with the team until 1988, except for one season with the

Las Vegas Americans The Las Vegas Americans were a soccer team based out of Las Vegas that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Prior to Las Vegas, the team had operated as the Memphis Americans. They only played in Las Vegas during the 1984–85 seaso ...

. In February 2008, he was inducted into the Baltimore Blast Hall of Fame.

Personal

Van Eron currently owns a company which specializes in holding soccer camps for youth players. The US release of ''

Microprose Soccer ''MicroProse Soccer'' is an association football video game published by MicroProse in 1988. The original Commodore 64 version was developed by Sensible Software and ported to other systems. In the United States, the game was released as ''Kei ...

'' (1988), probably the most popular soccer game for the Commodore 64 computer, was called ''Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer''Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer
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Yearly Awards

* ASL First Team All Star: 1977 * MISL Goalkeeper of the Year: 1986

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Eron, Keith 1955 births Living people Sportspeople from Brooklyn American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Baltimore Blast (original MISL) players Cincinnati Kids players Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Houston Hurricane players Las Vegas Americans players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New York United players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Philadelphia Fury (1978–1980) players Soccer players from New York (state) Wichita Wings (MISL) players Association football goalkeepers New York Apollo players