Neil Shaffer (born February 14, 1989, in
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania) is a retired American
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player. Shaffer currently plays for amateur Pittsburgh side Tartan Devils Oak Avalon.
Career
College and amateur
Shaffer attended
Beaver High School
Beaver Area School District is a suburban, public school district in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately serving the Boroughs of Beaver and Bridgewater and Brighton Township and Vanport Township in Beaver Coun ...
and played four years of
college soccer at the
Robert Morris University. Following his senior season, Shaffer was named to the NSCAA Men's Division I All-North Atlantic Region Third Team and to the All-Northeast Conference Second Team. He finished his college career with 13 goals and nine assists for 35 career points.
During his college years, Shaffer also played for
Erie Admirals
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at ...
in the
National Premier Soccer League.
Professional
Undrafted out of college, Shaffer turned professional in 2011 when he signed for the
Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the
USL Professional Division
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
. He made his professional debut on May 21, 2011, in a game against
F.C. New York
F.C. New York was an American professional soccer team based first in Queens, New York City, and then Long Island, New York. The team played two seasons, starting in 2011 in the National Division of the USL Professional Division, the third tier ...
.
Kitsap Pumas
In 2013 Shaffer scored 5 goals in 14 appearances for the USL PDL side.
Harrisburg City Islanders
After a productive 2013 season Shaffer signed with the USL side and helped the team make it to the USL-PRO Championship Game. During his time in Harrisburg Neil made large strides toward helping the local humane society. In fact, he donated his entire salary to science in effort to research k9 behavior and cognitive abilities. He currently owns two guinea pigs Sam and Jackson.
Neil was a fan favorite during his time at City Island. His technical ability was so fantastic that fans never knew whether he was left footed or right footed. I do not think any still knows to this day......
Indy Eleven
On December 23, 2015, Shaffer signed with the NASL side, Indy Eleven
On 6 May 2016, Shaffer was loaned back to
Harrisburg City Islanders for their weekend series of games against
FC Cincinnati and
Charleston Battery on 7th and 9 May.
References
External links
RMU bio
1989 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
Robert Morris Colonials men's soccer players
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players
Kitsap Pumas players
Penn FC players
Indy Eleven players
Soccer players from Pennsylvania
USL Championship players
USL League Two players
Men's association football midfielders
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