Goalie of the first men’s soccer team makes a return
Paul Halpern met the current student-athletes and coach Brian Maisonneuve to swap stories and see the new facility.
Paul Halpern chats with men’s soccer players after an invite from Coach Brian Maisonneuve brought him to campus. (Photo by Billy Ennis)
A smile stretches across Paul Halpern’s face as he gazes at the 14,000-square-foot weight room and cardio facility inside the Schumaker Complex, home of the men’s soccer team and other programs.
“Wow, this is phenomenal,” 91-year-old Halpern ’54 says, recalling how he and his soccer teammates bought their cleats and found their own way to road games in that first club sport season of 1950. Men’s soccer became a varsity sport three years later with Halpern as a goalkeeper.
“We beat Michigan 3–1,” he says, sharing a memory that warms his heart seven decades later. “I was in net. That’s my claim to fame.”
Halpern’s love for Ohio State and curiosity about how the soccer program has evolved since his playing days led him to contact The Ohio State University Alumni Association Engagement Center in late July.
Apeksh Desai ’23 took the call, learned that Halpern had an interest in meeting current players and relayed that desire to Coach Brian Maisonneuve.
“I got this beautiful letter back from the coach that said, ‘Please come visit,’” Halpern recalls.
So in August, Halpern and his wife, Shelly, drove to Columbus from their home in Lakewood, New Jersey. Along with three other family members — including grandnephew and Ohio State sophomore Matthew Blumenthal — they were Maisonneuve’s guests for the afternoon.
The fifth-year Buckeyes coach led the Halpern family on a tour of the Schumaker Complex, a $45 million facility that opened in 2018 to serve as home for eight varsity teams.
“It’s so important to have our alums around the program,” Maisonneuve says. “Life is all about relationships, and when you have a common thread like Ohio State, you can build those relationships.”
The team presented Halpern, who has survived the Holocaust and cancer and served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, with an Ohio State jersey. He donated his Varsity O sweater and financial support and shared gratitude for the opportunity to connect with current players before their practice.
“I can’t believe how I can look at this team and say, ‘We built this,’” Halpern says, smiling broadly on his field of dreams.
Ready for more soccer?
The College of Education and Human Ecology shares how Frank Vizcarra ’79 grew up in a barrio in Tijuana and went on to become a two-time most valuable player for Ohio State, a pro midfielder and a McDonald’s executive.
