The tweets combined in December 2016 like a well-executed give-and-go: First, one healthy top-10 pick announced his early retirement, then another followed a day later. J.J. Koval and New Hope native Steve Neumann, feeling they’d given enough, were gone.
Former Georgetown star Neumann, then 25 and the No. 4 overall selection in the 2014 MLS draft, was set on business school. Former Stanford captain Koval, then 24 and taken ninth that same year, wanted to become a dentist.
Both had options if they wished to remain in the sport. After three professional seasons apiece, neither did.
“I have other interests in my life, and the longer you play, the narrower your potential career path gets,” said Neumann, a Council Rock North product who is back at Georgetown to work toward a master’s degree in business administration.