Shannon Keeler wants to encourage more high school players to look at their options before choosing Division I.
Shannon Keeler ended her lacrosse career after 14 years with a bang. The former Moorestown High School goalie who went on to play for Gettysburg won the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse National Championship last month against the College of New Jersey. Keeler ended the game with by tying a career high of 15 saves and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.
“It’s the greatest accomplishment I have ever had,” Keeler said. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so happy for so long.”
With Moorestown having a slew of great goalies, Keeler didn’t start until her senior year, when she led the Quakers to a perfect season and a state title. She has been playing lacrosse since third grade.
“I’m super grateful for Moorestown lacrosse and that it molded me into the type of player that was able to thrive in college,” Keeler said. “It was just the greatest foundation for lacrosse I could have asked for.”
After looking at several Division I schools, the 5 foot 11 goalie decided she wanted to explore other options. Her parents encouraged her to consider Division III, pointing out Gettysburg had won a national championship in 2011, two years before Keeler was set to graduate. Gettysburg ended up being everything she could have asked for, and she was able to start all four years.
Keeler knew her team was special and she was physically good enough to take her team to a national championship game, but she had to work on her mental stamina. She started reading sports psychology books and asking her coaches to put her in high pressure situations.
Keeler was named the Centennial Conference player of the week eight times throughout her career and broke several records, including all time wins at Gettysburg and achieving the highest save percentage in 20 years, but she says she doesn’t care about the records.
“Winning the national championship was all I could have dreamed about and more,” Keeler said. “To win a national championship and having that as a team … I would forfeit any record and any individual award.”
The championship game was far from an easy win. After a teammate broke the tie against TCNJ in the second half and scored the game-winning goal, it was Keeler’s job to hold onto the ball while the clock ran out. She passed the ball to a teammate who was double teamed and passed it back to Keeler. With just seconds left, Keeler ran down the field with the ball but was tripped and lost control.
“Mid-air, I find a girl on my team and roll the ball in her direction,” Keeler said. Her teammate recovered the ball with one second left and the Bullets won the national championship title.
“It was an eventful ending for sure.”
Keeler says what made the win so great was it was so hard to achieve. In addition to the hours of hard work the team put in, the girls had to give up not only spring break, but graduation and senior week as well.
“It wouldn’t have happened without everyone’s sacrifices and effort,” Keeler said. “It is 150 percent worth it.”
Gettysburg held a separate commencement ceremony for the five seniors who would miss graduation due to the tournament, which Keeler said was more special than she could have imagined.
Keeler says attending a Division III school afforded her the opportunity to study abroad, join a sorority and have an identity outside of “lacrosse player” — three things she may not have been able to do at a Division I school. For that reason, Keeler wants to encourage high school athletes to explore their options outside of Division I. She hopes to see more MHS graduates attend Gettysburg and other Division III schools.
“This ended up being such a great all around experience for me. If I had just played D1 lacrosse, I think I would have burn out,” Keeler said, adding there are a lot of academically prestigious Division III schools. “It wasn’t always perfect, because being a goalie or even being an athlete isn’t always easy.”
Keeler emphasized she is thankful for her parents and especially her coaches, who pushed her and made her college lacrosse experience what it was.
“When you face something that’s tough, will it make you or break you?” Keeler asked. “For me, I think it made me stronger.”
Keeler, an organization and management studies major, will start working in the fall with AT&T in Atlanta. Although her student career is over, Keeler doesn’t foresee herself ever leaving lacrosse for good, and plans to coach or give lessons after she gets established in her career.
“Lacrosse taught me so much about commitment and sacrifice and working with a team,” Keeler said. “I really think that i’m going to be able to take those skills with me into the real world.”
