During her junior year at Moon Area High School, Caroline Keefer searched much of the Eastern Seaboard for the ideal college. 

The soccer standout sought the perfect school where she could continue playing the sport she grew up with. 

"I was kind of young and not really sure what I wanted," Keefer said. "Virginia Tech, James Madison, Yale, North Carolina State were some of the schools I visited." 

Keefer found what she was looking for much closer to home at the University of Pittsburgh

The 5-foot-5 sophomore logged 1,824 minutes for the Panthers during its 2010 season, the most recorded on the team that year. She started 20 games as a freshmen, and Top Drawer Soccer named her one of the Top 100 Freshman to watch. She also was named to the Big East All-Freshman team. 

"I knew coming in that there was a position open on defense, and I knew I had to work really hard to get in shape," Keefer said. "The fact that everything happened last year really took me by surprise, but it was awesome that it did."

But Keefer said accolades aren't what motivates her as a player.  

"I think [defensive players] can be looked over a lot, especially with awards and honors, but it's important where I play because you have to start from the back," she said. "You can't win if people are scoring on you all the time, so playing defense is kind of like the backbone to build your team."

Keefer's impact in her first year on campus didn't surprise Panthers women's soccer coach Sue Roy-Chin.

"I thought she'd get some playing time and if she worked her way into the starting lineup, that she would play a lot," Chin said. "I knew she would come in and give us minutes right away, but she came in incredibly fit, focused and ready to play. We imagined she would, but you never know with freshman if they can adjust to the caliber of play right away, and Caroline did a great job of that."

Her experience at the high school and club levels also helped that adjustment. Keefer led teams for the Bridgeville-based Beadling Soccer Club for eight years, winning six state championships, before exceeding the age limit after last season.

She earned a 2009 All-State selection and three sectional championships as a member of the Lady Tigers, but she said club soccer is what prepared her for the rigors of playing in the Big East. 

"It's high competition. There's a PA West League, but we didn't have much competition there," Keefer said. "We would play in regional tournaments every weekend in the spring and play in college showcases. That's how I got seen and recruited."

Keefer, who has not yet declared a major at Pitt, is considering accounting or finance as a career path.

Soccer is something that comes naturally to the Keefer family. Caroline's mother, Beje, played at UNC-Wilmington, and her twin brothers are on the Moon Area boys soccer team. Her father, Craig, played baseball at Penn.

Now, her mother and father have the chance to visit with family and friends scattered all over the East Coast while following their daughter through her college soccer journey.

"My mom and dad come to all of my games, even away games they are usually there," Keefer said. "We have relatives and fiends all over the place so they'll stay with them and come to away games.

"I love having my parents there and having their support, and they take me out to dinner -- that's pretty nice," she said.