Gettysburg College Athletics

Believe it or not, our next inductee’s Hall of Honor career came very close to never happening. Matt Rocktroh nearly handed in his soccer cleats prior to his senior year, but thankfully he changed his mind and went on to finish a great career on the soccer pitch.

Rockstroh arrived at Gettysburg in the fall of 1983, following up a soccer career at prep power Calvert Hall College High School in Baltimore. He took over a starting spot in the back row and helped the Bullets rebound from a slow start to finish with a .500 record. With the Baltimore native guarding the back line, Gettysburg posted six shutouts over the final 10 contests of the year.

He continued to ply his trade in the back row and Gettysburg continued to improve. The Bullets won eight matches for the second consecutive season and finished unbeaten in divisional play with a 5-0-1 record. The defense notched five shutouts and Rockstroh got into the offense out of the backfield, netting his first two collegiate goals against Lebanon Valley and adding the game-winner in a shutout of Franklin & Marshall. The script was similar in 1985 as Gettysburg improved its win total by one and again went unbeaten in divisional play. Rockstroh scored a goal in a 1-0 win over Dickinson while paving the way for the defense to record six more shutouts.

Gettysburg was winning and Rockstroh was a leader in the backfield, but he had hit a wall after his junior season and entertained thoughts of giving up soccer to concentrate on his academics and career plans. He changed his mind, however, after Gettysburg hired Dave Wright to assume head coaching duties.

Wright instilled new life into the soccer program – and Rockstroh. After three years patrolling the back row, he was moved up to center striker. Wright saw something in the senior that he thought he could utilize, but little did he or Rockstroh realize what that change would do.
With Rockstroh leading the way in 1986, Gettysburg managed its best season in five decades of soccer. In his first match on the attack, he scored a goal as the Bullets beat Mount St. Mary’s. He would add five more goals as the Bullets won eight of their first 10 matches of the year. Gettysburg stumbled against Messiah in early October with their scoring leader going down with an ankle injury, but both the Bullets and Rockstroh bounced back for the remainder of the month. Gettysburg won all five of its remaining contests in October and Rockstroh led the way, scoring seven goals and dishing out four assists. He tallied his only career hat trick in a 5-1 win over Dickinson.

Gettysburg had high hopes of gaining entrance into the NCAA Tournament, but back-to-back losses to end the year wiped those dreams away. The team still set a school record for wins with 13 and smashed the school record for goals scored.

Rockstroh was the key element, finishing with 13 goals and eight assists for a school-record 34 points. He was named All-Middle Atlantic Conference First Team and the M-A-C Southern Division MVP. In addition to first-team All-Region status, he was named the first All-American in school history by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

After graduating with a degree in business administration in 1987, Rockstroh went into the financial business and is currently a senior Vice President at PNC Bank. He has been married to the former Elizabeth Piff since 1992 and the couple has three children