By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- His college soccer career began in 2012 while playing for Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.
After only one year, though, Nick Keddie decided to transfer to Bridgewater State University, not far from home in Abington.
“I ended up finding that was really not the school for me,’’ said Keddie, who appeared in 10 games and started two for Salve Regina. “I ended up falling in love with this school.’’
The former Cardinal Spellman High School standout has been a key part of the Bears since making the move back to Massachusetts in 2013.
A top-notch defender, Keddie was named to the All-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference second team as a sophomore and earned a spot on the first team as a junior and senior.
He is one of the reasons why BSU (17-3-1) allowed only 14 goals in 21 games with goalkeeper Colin Jepson recording 12 shutouts.
Defense is the name of the game for Keddie, a former Enterprise player of the year who led Cardinal Spellman to the Division 3 South championship as a senior in 2011.
“Defense has always been my top priority,’’ said Keddie before practice at Swenson Field on Tuesday. “If the other team can’t score, they can’t win. Knowing that the other team is not going to score, I love that.’’
The stinginess of the Bears has led them to the NCAA Division 3 tournament with an opening-round game against MIT in Cambridge on Saturday at 11 a.m.
“Our defense is unbelievable,’’ said Keddie. “It’s the best defensive team I’ve ever been on in my life. We have the chemistry all the way through between the backs, midfield and forwards working as one unit.’’
Keddie helps make it all go with his aggressive play and ability to shut down the top scorer on opposing teams.
BSU senior forward Conor Murtagh, a two-time MASCAC player of the year who was named the ECAC Division 3 New England offensive player of the week Tuesday, goes against Keddie on a daily basis in practice and sees how difficult he is to get past while on the attack.
“He’s unbelievable,’’ said Murtagh. “We have battles. We’ll keep score how many times I can get by him, how many times he can stop me. We try to make it a game, a friendly competition.
“He just doesn’t stop. He’s always going 100 percent. He refuses to let anybody beat him. He’s just so driven to not let anyone beat him. It’s so hard against him.
“Other teams try their best to get by him. He’s not the biggest player (5-foot-8), but he can go up against any player and take him down.’’
Keddie, who has six assists and no goals in 61 career games at BSU, was happily welcomed to the Bears’ roster after making the move from Salve Regina.
BSU, which recruited Keddie out of Cardinal Spellman, is making its second trip to the NCAAs in three years with him.
“He’s definitely a very good leader,’’ said coach Brendan Adams. “He’s just a tough kid, a pit bull defensively. He makes up for a lot of mistakes that we make.
“He takes a lot of pride in it. At times, he’d love to get up and get in the attack, but he just takes pride in stopping a player and getting a shutout.’’
His third and final season at BSU is winding down, and the three-time All-MASCAC defender is glad he made the switch from Salve Regina.
“I love every second of it here,’’ said Keddie. “I wouldn’t change it ever.’’