Niko Klosterhalfen studied English in grade school, but when he met Old Dominion men’s soccer coach Alan Dawson four years ago in Cologne, Germany, they were barely able to communicate.
“We met face to face, not that we understood much,” said Dawson, the Belfast, Northern Ireland native who is in his 22nd season as ODU’s coach. “Niko didn’t speak a lot of English.”
But Klosterhalfen says he could tell right away that Dawson was a good guy, and somebody he’d like to play for. Although North Carolina and other big-time soccer schools offered him scholarships, Klosterhalfen signed with ODU.