Standing no taller than 5’5” in her soccer cleats, Lisa
(Hall) Halstead admits she “may not have been the tallest
goalkeeper around,” but what she gave up in height, she made
up for with an unrivaled quickness and determination that has made
her the first from the women’s soccer program to be inducted
into The College of Wooster’s “W” Association
Hall of Fame.
“The biggest challenges for me were always high balls or crosses that got placed on net,” said Hall, who earned a degree in biology from the College in 1994. “I would compensate for my lack of height by playing more aggressive and taking away the shooter’s angles. I was a lot quicker than people expected.”
Hall joined the Fighting Scots from North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., and while most student-athletes struggle with the transition to collegiate athletics, she became a star the moment she stepped into Wooster’s goal.
As a freshman in 1990, Hall would lead the Scots to new heights as the team earned a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference championship for the first time in the program’s then seven-year history. Hall notched nine shutouts in 16 starts (10-3-3) and her impressive rookie campaign did not go unnoticed as she received the NCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Year award, in addition to first-team all-NCAC status, the first of three such honors.
Hall’s sophomore campaign was perhaps her most impressive. She set a still-standing school record of 10 shutouts while allowing only eight total goals over 20 starts (14-3-3), and this time, Wooster won the NCAC championship outright. Hall’s 114 saves ended up as a career high, she repeated being selected as the conference’s top defensive player, and most impressive, she worked her way on to the coaches’ All-America Second Team.
For a month in 1992, it did not look like anyone was going to be able to score on Hall, as the then-junior locked down and recorded 810 consecutive minutes of playing time without allowing a single goal, another school record. The streak included parts of 11 matches, nine of which were shutouts, and she was eventually again rewarded with second-team All-American recognition.
Hall remains the Scots’ lone two-time All-American in women’s soccer and she may have added another had it not been for suffering a broken leg when challenging a breakaway in the fifth match of the ’93 season. Despite the abrupt end to her career, she hung up the cleats with 339 career saves and 30 shutouts – both Wooster records – and a 40-14-8 win-loss mark (.710).
“She was an extremely athletic and tough kid,” commented Hall’s coach David “Geordie” Brown, who still heads the program, now in his 19th season. “She played before gloves became popular, so she was making these incredible plays as a barehanded goalkeeper. Lisa was the best we’ve ever had, and she was better than anyone we’ve ever played against in my time coaching.”
At Wooster, Hall knew she wanted to be working with animals in some capacity and two weeks before graduation she landed her first job, over 1,600 miles from home, as an animal trainer at Sea World of Texas. She’s still there, training everything from sea lions to otters and walruses.
When Hall’s not working, she stays active playing soccer, softball, and golf, and enjoying time with her family, which includes husband Tony and her “biggest accomplishment since graduation” – daughters Abigail (6) and Emma (4).