 "Photo: Toby Rochau")
Toby Rochau started young.
“I started to play soccer at age 4 with my older brother who needed a keeper in our backyard,” Rochau said. “I like the pressure of knowing I can lose the game or win the game and the intense feeling I get from it. You have to be a special person to be a keeper, and I want to share that with others.”
The senior goalkeeper and captain of Texas Wesleyan’s men’s soccer team now wants to share his passion for goalkeeping through coaching, and he hopes to play in a competitive soccer league. Rochau is scheduled to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing and a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Rochau is an international student from Frankfurt, Germany, and has been a student and soccer player at Wesleyan for four years. He traveled to America in 2002 as an exchange student and was placed into Grand Prairie High School as a junior. He was goalkeeper for the Gophers a year before returning home.
After completing high school in Germany, Rochau returned to the States to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
“I wanted to attend a college near Grand Prairie in order to stay close to my host family and my friends from Grand Prairie,” he said.
Four years at Wesleyan can bring about many memories, but Rochau said he will always remember defeating Oklahoma City University, the No. 6 nationally ranked team in the NAIA, 2-1 in his senior year.
“We fought together as a team, and it was a unique experience to beat our rivals, especially a nationally ranked team,” Rochau said.
Rochau had eight saves on nine shots on goal in the match, which led to the first Ram soccer victory over a top-10 team in Wesleyan history. The win over Oklahoma City also led the Rams to a 6-0 winning streak in the beginning of the season.
“Toby’s work ethic and commitment to the team was shown every day in practice, and he was the ideal captain for our squad,” said senior defender Jorge Pineda.
Rochau was ranked No. 35 in the NAIA division one in saves per game at 5.85 and named RRAC men’s soccer defensive player of the week for Sept. 7-13.
“Toby is a coach’s dream because he does what you ask of him, and he is a great goalkeeper,” said Gaspar Martinez, head coach of the men’s soccer team.
Away from soccer and studies, Rochau interns at ESPN radio in the promotions and marketing department. He also works part-time as a journalist for Spox.com, a German online sports Web site, covering the Dallas Mavericks games, focusing on forward Dirk Nowitzki who is also from Germany.
After graduation Rochau plans to pursue a career in sports marketing/management or complete his master’s degree.
“Toby is a go-getter kind of guy and he will do very well for himself after Wesleyan,” Martinez said.
His teammate agrees.
“I was fortunate to get to know Toby for three years on and off the field and his continuous efforts in the classroom have made his future bright,” Pineda said. “He is headed in the right direction, and he will be successful in life.”
Rochau said he knows he will be leaving something special behind to pursue the career he has worked hard for.
“I will miss playing as a team and seeing my teammates and the Wesleyan community on a regular basis,” he said.
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