June 25, 2008

Andrew Mittendorf's life has always revolved around soccer. From the beginning, the Somers, New York native and 1999 Lehigh grad showed promise.

"I was encouraged to play when I was very young and I immediately fell in love with the game," said Mittendorf, currently a resident in New York City and working for a specialized investment bank on Wall Street. "I always knew I wanted to keep playing soccer and I was very fortunate that the game continued to provide me opportunities throughout college and around the world."

His first experience came at Lehigh. Recruited as a defender by Lehigh coach Dean Koski, Mittendorf worked through the lineup to become a midfielder and eventually a forward by his junior season. That year, he earned his first Patriot League Player of the Year award, starting in all 19 games while scoring 13 goals and assisting on 10 others. He finished that year with 36 points.

But Mittendorf wasn't done. His senior season saw him nearly double his output, as he netted 24 goals in just 18 games making him the NCAA goals per game leader for the 1998 season. Soon after he was named to the Patriot League Men's Soccer All-Decade team.

"That year, we were in the Patriot League semifinals against Colgate," he said. "I remember scoring the equalizing goal in that game and eventually we went on to the finals. Playing in back-to-back Patriot League Finals ('97 and `98) we realized then that we were doing something special, not only for us, but for Lehigh. We were taking the soccer program to the next level."

Indeed, the men's soccer program has exceeded many expectations in the years following Mittendorf's career, reaching the third round of the NCAA Division I Championship in 2006. That year also saw the Mountain Hawks ranked as high as 13 in the national polls; the school's highest ranking ever.

"I think that clearly shows the type of leadership and impact that Coach Koski has had on the program and, most importantly, how the athletes continue to hold themselves to the highest standards both academically and athletically," said Mittendorf. "It was always very important for me to be able to excel both on the field and in the classroom. Lehigh offered a unique opportunity to compete at the highest level and I wanted to take full advantage of it"

That experience would prove vital as Mittendorf was drafted eighth by the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS) in its 1999 college draft. Though his MLS experience lasted less than one season, it opened his eyes to the world of professional sports.

"It was definitely a whole new level that I was being exposed to," he said. "I was now playing with guys that I looked up to when I was a kid. I was privileged to be a part of the progression of Major League Soccer in its early stages and it is wonderful to see the progression it has made today"

Mittendorf said that the Lehigh environment gave him the ability to be ready for the challenges of MLS and International soccer.

"Lehigh provided the platform and resources to test my abilities," he said. "It prepared me for the realization that I would have the opportunity to play soccer for a living, and for that challenge, I would need to raise my game even more."

After his stint with the Rapids, Mittendorf played on professional clubs in Hershey, Pennsylvania and Long Island. He also spent the 2001 season overseas playing under contract for a club in Stockholm, Sweden.

While he wouldn't play professionally after that season, Mittendorf wasn't finished in the soccer world. In 2002, he co-founded "Coastal Soccer," an organization in Long Island dedicated to develop and train youth soccer players ages 5-12.

The company grew over the past five-and-a-half years and went on to employ more than 50 people before Mittendorf and his partner sold it in September 2006.

"It was great to see a company develop from a start-up stage to a full-fledged organization in five years," he said. "The expectation to achieve results was embedded in me as a student-athlete at Lehigh. The University's commitment to excellence transferred directly into the business world and provided me with the skills necessary to compete."

While he has put soccer on hold for a while, he believes that the sport will continue to grow around the world. "Soccer is the world's game, there's no doubt about that," he said. "The amount of people playing soccer has definitely increased, especially in America. What we need now is a solid transfer between generations to keep the movement growing. I am just fortunate to have been a part of it along the way."

Story written by Matt Shelosky `08