Impact Of A Scholarship: Keri Sarver

Keri Sarver was a Maryland legend on the soccer pitch from 1995 to 1998, helping the Terrapins make four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and holding the school record in every major offensive category upon graduation. Fast forward nearly two and a half decades later, and Sarver is continuing to leave her mark on the game—now showcasing her talent on the biggest stage the sport has to offer, the World Cup.

Sarver currently serves as an assistant coach with the New Zealand National Team and made her World Cup debut in July—a feeling she is still unable to completely express.

“There’s no words to describe it once you’re in it,” Sarver said. “We’ve had all this excitement for the past two years because we knew we were going, but until you’re actually in it, there’s really nothing that can prepare you for it and no way to describe it.”

As is the case with a majority of young soccer players, Sarver grew up envisioning herself as part of the World Cup one day. From a young age, Sarver held a firm belief that she would make it to the grand stage one day—even when that path wasn’t always clear for women.

“As a young player, I always dreamed of playing in a World Cup. And when I first had that thought in my head as an eight and 10-year-old girl, there was no Women’s World Cup. But at no point in my mind did I think it wasn’t possible, even though there wasn’t even an event for women at the time. And I thought about that a lot leading up to our match on that first day.”

Sarver’s international soccer coaching career originally started with youth US soccer teams, which is where she first connected with eventual New Zealand head coach Jitka Klimková. The two coached together in various forms with the USA program for years before Sarver hired Klimková as a staff coach at the club she owns and runs in Ohio. 

And so it was only fitting that when Klimková was hired as the New Zealand women’s national coach, she called Sarver. 

“It was the natural next step for us in our coaching journey together,” Sarver recalled.

Though Sarver is not a New Zealand native, instead hailing from Ohio, the impact that the World Cup—with New Zealand being a co-host along with Australia—had on the country’s growing appreciation for the game of soccer is something that means a great deal to her.

That feeling was never reflected more than in the moments after New Zealand’s win over Norway. It was the very first game of the 2023 World Cup and played in front of a sold-out crowd, with people of all ages decked in New Zealand colors and cheering along wildly. The win was the first one ever for New Zealand—on both the men’s or women’s side.

“Just getting that win and then seeing that atmosphere afterwards with the crowd going crazy. I have no words to describe what that meant. I’ve never had a feeling like that before in my life.”

“There were a lot of boys and girls in the stands, a lot of people coming up to our players and our staff and thanking us for what our football has done for this country and for inspiring young boys and girls in this country,” she added. “I think that in itself is a win. Even though it doesn’t show as a win on the scoreboard, it’s a win for New Zealand football. I’m proud to be a small part of that process.”

According to Sarver, the Football Ferns entered the World Cup with three main goals: to inspire the nation and next generation of girls and boys to play and develop a love of football in New Zealand, to win their first-ever World Cup game, and to advance from the group stage. 

New Zealand accomplished the first two, but finished 1-1-1 in the stage group and was unable to advance to the knockout round. 

“We are proud of what we accomplished, reaching two of the three goals, but are disappointed that we did not accomplish the third and are back to work analyzing the campaign and planning for the future of the Football Ferns,” Sarver said. 

The World Cup became a reality for Sarver two years ago when she joined the New Zealand staff. However, she traces her origins of soccer excellence all the way back to her time in College Park.

She recalls being attracted to Maryland for its top-ranked computer science program in addition to the tradition of soccer excellence, something she credits head men’s soccer coach Sasho Cirovski for helping establish across both teams. Additionally, legendary women’s coach April Heinrichs offered her a chance to take her game to the next level.

“She is one of those legends of the game at the women’s international level,” Sarver said of Heinrichs. “Her going through the World Cup as a player and as a coach in the Olympics inspired me to follow her to Maryland.”

While a Terp, Sarver was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference Selection and was named an All-American in 1998. Sarver helped lead the Terrapins to four NCAA Tournament appearances from 1995-1998, including quarterfinal appearances in 1995 and 1996. She holds the Maryland career records for goals (61), assists (33), points (155) as well as the single season records assists (15, 1996) and points (49, 1998), while also being tied for the single season record in goals (21, 1998). Sarver has scored the most goals in program history in the NCAA Tournament with six in her career, and also scored the most in a single game with three against Fairfield in 1998.

Sarver believes that working hard both on the field and in the classroom prepared her for the next step in her life as she balanced being a software engineer and a professional player simultaneously. She was able to focus solely on her athletics and academic pursuits while at Maryland thanks to her scholarship.

For that, Sarver is exceptionally grateful. 

“I was blessed to have had parents who would have been able to help me through college even if I wasn’t on a scholarship. But with that being said, we were a middle-class midwest family and I had three brothers. It was a great sense of pride for me that they didn’t have to worry about paying for college with me, especially as they were still putting my brothers through school at the same time. It meant a lot to me to be able to be able to give back to my family because the support they gave to me as a kid was what allowed me to play college soccer. It was a wonderful way to say thank you to my parents.”

Sarver is eager to continue with Team New Zealand and dreams of experiencing another World Cup. In the meantime, she’s continuing her work at her club in Ohio, named Internationals. Sarver owns and runs the club herself, which is home to 350 female players and is, to Sarver’s knowledge, the only female-owned club in the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL). 

Leading and teaching young female athletes in all walks of life is what Sarver finds the most pride in. 

“I think it’s good for young, aspiring females to hear that there’s so many different things you can do after your playing days are done. There’s so much out there for young females who want a future in the game.”

“That’s one of the biggest legacies I hope to leave on the sport.”