Arcadia's Swan top soccer scorer

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ben Swan joined the Air Force when he graduated from Konawaena High in 1996 because it seemed like the best option available.

SWAN

Swan finished his career at Arcadia, in suburban Philadelphia, last month as the college's all-time leading scorer with 49 goals and 24 assists for 122 points.

"He played only three years and he smashed the record," coach Tom Carlin said. "He beat the goals record by 17 and the points record by 40. ... He's a coach's dream."

In three years in the Air Force, E-4 (senior airman) Swan served as a physical therapy aide on the ground and never flew in an Air Force plane.

He was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey when he decided to go to college 45 minutes away at Arcadia. "The Air Force paid 75 percent of my tuition for two years and the GI Bill has paid $900 a month since I was discharged," Swan said.

"That (GI Bill) was a tough stretch at a private school," Swan said, but he got help from his wife, Jen, who is still in the Air Force and will soon outrank him.

Playing at Arcadia was his first competitive soccer since high school and the Kona Heat club team. "I knew it was something I wanted to do," he said.

Swan was chosen a regional All-American and the Pennsylvania Conference championship tournament's Most Valuable Player by coaches in 2001. This year, he missed eight games with a concussion, but returned to lead Arcadia's Knights into the NCAA Tournament with their second straight unbeaten conference season.

He scored in a 1-0 victory over Keene and his goal was the difference in a 5-4 penalty-kick victory over Williams in the regional final, propelling Arcadia into the NCAA Division III Elite Eight. "Making the Elite Eight was my biggest thrill," he said.

Swan earned a degree in business last spring and took graduate courses in special education while he played his final year of soccer. "Now, I just have to find a job," he said.