A Defender On And Off The Field

Kevin Keenan is often the last line of defense on the Flagler College men’s soccer team. He is responsible for thwarting any kind of attack on the goal to keep the Saints in the game.

A two-time all-region and all-Peach Belt Conference selection, Keenan’s performance on the field has been recognized. But it was late spring that all of Keenan’s learned tactics in soccer and endurance would translate to a real life experience.

Keenan chased down a pair of purse thieves while visiting a mall in Lake Grove, NY. It began as a woman swiped another woman’s purse off a table in the bustling food court of the shopping center. The purse-grabber then handed the bag off to a male accomplice. The duo then ran out of the eatery and through the doors to the parking lot.

The victim chased them to the door, but stopped, realizing the thieves were too far away for her to catch them. The v[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’]ictim pleaded loudly for someone to help her, but the onlookers did not offer to assist in any way.

Realizing no one else would aid the victim, Keenan jumped into action.

“The security guards weren’t there and nobody was doing anything,” said Keenan. “So I ran out after him.”

By the time Keenan reached the exit he could only see the male purse-snatcher running toward the far end of the shopping mall parking lot. Keenan set off in a sprint to catch the criminal, just as he would do on any opposing player on a breakaway on the Flagler goal.

The Ireland native made up some ground as he chased the man through the parking lot. As they reached the exit of the car park, Keenan had to pause due to the amount of vehicles in the intersection. Keenan then quickly darted through the traffic and back into pursuit.

The offender and Keenan ran for more than a mile before the transgression would conclude in a wooded area of a city park.

Keenan had caught up enough to see that the criminal was not armed with a weapon. As Keenan drew closer, the thief tried to elude him by jumping a privacy fence and hiding in the brush of the park.

Keenan decided to go the long way around the fence in hopes of surprising the crook. The Flagler Saint spotted the thief hiding in the woods. The criminal didn’t see Keenan approaching until it was too late.

Keenan tackled the suspect in the park and pinned him to the ground. The handbag was not with the thief so Keenan told the man to take him to the purse.

Both Keenan and the purse thief walked back through the park to the handbag. As Keenan turned to pick up the stolen item the man turned and ran off again.

At that point, Keenan felt it was more important to return the bag rather than chase the thief again.

The male criminal would be picked up by police officers roughly 10 minutes after the altercation with Keenan.

“He really didn’t look like a robber, he looked like a young kid,” said Keenan. “But it turns out that he was a 19-year-old that had recently escaped from a detention center.”

Keenan returned the hand bag and all of its contents to the woman in the mall. The local detective requested an official statement, so Keenan went into the police station.

Upon meeting the detective, Keenan was greeted with smiles and appreciation. The detective said that 99 percent of his department would not be able to run as far or fast as Keenan did in order to run down the thief.

After being apprehended, the male accomplice was charged for his crimes. What began as a day at the mall turned into an afternoon of action and pursuit, none of which is out of the ordinary for Keenan on the soccer pitch.

“I was waiting in line for Chinese food and feeling very hungry,” said Keenan. “By the time I was done I was too out-of-breath to eat so I just ended up going home.”

Keenan was visiting New York during his time playing in a collegiate soccer league. He is playing for the Erie (Pa.) Admirals of the National Premier Soccer League with Flagler teammate Zach Shanahan.