 Keller in 1995 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Deborah Kim Keller[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-03-24)March 24, 1975 (age 49) | ||
| Place of birth | Winfield, Illinois, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1996 | North Carolina Tar Heels | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997 | Rockford Dactyls | ||
| 1999 | Fortuna Hjørring | ||
| 2000 | Rockford Dactyls | ||
| International career | |||
| 1995–1998 | United States | 46 | (18) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Deborah Kim Keller (born March 24, 1975) is an American retiredsoccer forward and former member of theUnited States women's national soccer team. She was the collegiate National Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
Born inWinfield, Illinois, Keller was raised inNaperville where she attendedWaubonsie Valley High School and played for the women's soccer team where her mother was the head coach. Throughout her high school career, Keller scored 144 goals and served 92 assists. She was named aParade All-American twice and was named to theChicago Tribune Top 20 Scholar-Athlete Team.[1]
Keller attendedUniversity of North Carolina from 1993 to 1996 where she played for theTar Heels led by national team coach,Anson Dorrance.[2] During her junior season, she scored 23 goals and served 14 assists in the 26 games she played.[1] Five of her goals came during Tar Heels' 8–0 defeat of North Carolina State University.[3] The following year, she scored 18 goals and served 16 assists in 22 games.[1]
In 1998, Keller and her Tar Heel teammate Melissa Jennings filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Dorrance that ended ten years later in a settlement.[4][5]
In March 1999 Keller signed for DanishElitedivisionen teamFortuna Hjørring, scoring on her debut on April 1, 1999.[6] She received aletter of intent fromWomen's United Soccer Association, but did not join the new league because of Dorrance's involvement in it.[7]
Keller played for theUnited States women's national soccer team from 1995 to 1999. In 1998, her 14 goals ranked third on the team behindMia Hamm andTiffeny Milbrett.[8] She was cut from the team before the1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and unsuccessfully took legal action to be reinstated, suggesting her exclusion by coachTony DiCicco had been a retaliation for the Dorrance lawsuit.[9]
After retiring from soccer, Keller went tobeauty school to become ahairstylist. She was married in 2001 to Chris Hill.[10]
