DU men’s soccer freshman Keegan Kelly only improving as NCAA Tournament stakes get higher: “He can do it all”

Last December, Keegan Kelly was taking his final exams as a high school student in Auckland, New Zealand, just a short 7,300 miles away from the history books into which he’s now etching his name.

After graduating from Rosmini College — many Kiwi high schools are called colleges and run adjacent to the calendar year — he traded a warm summer at the beach for a freezing cold pitch in Colorado and a head start on his college soccer career.

This December, Kelly became the first University of Denver men’s soccer player to score goals in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games, something he couldn’t have foreseen during exam time. But for senior forward Oje Ofunrein, all it took was a couple of training sessions to spot what DU had in its freshman striker. And now he doesn’t hesitate to say what lingered in his mind for months prior: Kelly could be the next great Pioneer. Maybe even the best.

“Coming in, we knew how good he was and how good he can be. He could be one of the best forwards to ever play here,” said Ofunrein, who is already near the top of that list with 45 points and 21 goals in his career, both top-10 marks in DU history.

“I think he has that natural forward and striker instinct. He knows where to be, he has a good shot, he can finish. He’s aggressive, he can press, he can do it all.”

Pioneers coach Jamie Franks hopped on the train early on, too. His program does very little recruiting outside the States, but when the right player comes around, Franks will pull the trigger.

The aggression Ofunrein mentioned — not to mention a 6-foot-1 frame that will likely fill out over time — intrigued Franks initially and has gotten even more fiery as his confidence has grown with increased minutes and eventually a starting job on the wing.

He scored in his first appearance in the Pioneers’ season-opening 2-1 win at California. Three days later, in his first start, he scored again in a 1-0 win at No. 5 Stanford. In total, he has 13 starts under his belt.

“We thought (he’d be able to contribute) right away. For us, we knew he was going to be a big-time player from an athletic standpoint,” Franks said. “We knew he could come in and compete right away, and he’s really earned that spot and he’s deserved that opportunity.”

In past years, the program hasn’t had enough “steel” and athleticism to usher DU deep into an NCAA Tournament, according to Franks. The last time the Pioneers went past the second round, Andre Shinyashiki and Kortne Ford flaunted both on the way to the program’s first and only College Cup appearance.

Now, with Kelly leading the attack, DU is one win over UMass — a seedless team that upset No. 6 Pennsylvania and No. 11 Virginia to get to Saturday’s quarterfinal match in Denver — away from its second.

Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. But with a diving header in a 3-0 win over Gardner-Webb in DU’s NCAA opener and the Pioneers’ lone goal in a thrilling victory over No. 14 Indiana, Kelly broke new ground in DU history and became just the fourth Pio to score multiple career tournament goals. And he’s just getting started.

Winning those matches meant more to Kelly than any accolade could. In his words, “Parents care more about that stuff than I do.”

After the Indiana win, the bonus was another round of training the next Monday, since after all, this very well could be his last week with all-time great Pioneers like Ofunrein, Sam Bassett, Ronan Wynne and Jason Belloli.

Ofunrein jokingly — and to his face — described Kelly as a bit “immature” in his youth, less so now but especially when he first landed in Colorado. But like most people wish they did at his age, Kelly is acknowledging before they’re over that these are the good times.

“Another day in training is amazing; it’s a nice feeling to be able to come out here every day,” Kelly said. “Especially with these seniors, like I might not get to play with Oje ever again or any of the other boys who are out there playing right now. Everything I do is dedicated toward them.”

The national quarterfinal match will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at the DU Soccer Stadium.

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