Christian Dreyer’s '94 physical stature was more than enough to draw the attention of opposing teams, but it was his overall play that helped steer the Bullets to success. After a solid freshman debut, the Seaside Heights, N.J., native took a lead role during a postseason run in 1991. Gettysburg won a school-record 15 matches and took home the ECAC South Championship following shutouts of Mary Washington and Frostburg State.
In 1992, Dreyer landed NSCAA/Umbro All-America Honorable Mention and All-Middle Atlantic Conference Southern Division First Team as the anchor of a defensive unit that allowed just one goal in conference play and recorded nine shutouts overall. Gettysburg won 13 matches and went to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time in program history.
“You want your center-back to be one of the leaders of the team,” said Director of Athletics David Wright, who coached the men’s soccer program from 1986-2002. “He had that capability from a very early age. He just had a way about him, a confidence factor.”
Gettysburg secured the inaugural Centennial Conference championship during Dreyer’s senior season. Dreyer was one of the new conference’s top stars, earning runner-up in voting for the Player of the Year award despite the lack of statistics as a back defender. He led the best defensive unit in program history as the Bullets allowed just nine goals in 18 matches for a school-record goals against average of 0.48. Gettysburg finished 15-2-1 overall and 9-0 in conference play to secure its second-straight bid to the national tournament.
Following graduation, Dreyer joined the New Jersey State Police and has worked with various elite units during his two-decade career on the force.
“Christian Dreyer deserves to be in the Gettysburg College Hall of Athletic Honor because he was almost single-handily responsible for putting Gettysburg College men’s soccer on the regional and national map,” said Wright. “He’s very much in my mind deserving of this honor and I’m thrilled for him.”
