The American forward scored just shy of 30 league goals in a two-year stint in Ireland

FC Edmonton’s new striker isn’t the tallest. Jake Keegan, all 5-feet-8 of him, cut a large figure during his two-year stay at Galway United.

Keegan, 24, scored nearly 30 league goals during his stint in Ireland. The American had a successful collegiate career at Binghamton (N.Y.) University adding the most goals (28) and points (69) in the school’s Division I history. After a brief stint with FCA Darmstadt in Germany, Keegan headed to Galway.

“Galway used to have a club and they went bankrupt so two seasons ago – the first season I was there – was the first season back in the League of Ireland so they got put in the second division,” Keegan told NASL.

After taking some time to adjust to a new country and league, which was very physical and a direct style of play, Keegan went on to find the back of the net regularly. His goals, more importantly, came at crucial moments, particularly at the tail-end of the season. With Galway chasing promotion to the Premier Division, Keegan netted an equalizer five minutes from the final whistle to all but guarantee the Irish club a place in the playoffs. He then scored in the second leg of the semifinals to help Galway move one step closer to Ireland’s top division, which it ultimately secured.

“It was a great experience earning promotion on the first time of asking,” he said. “The community got behind the club and in the push for promotion the atmosphere in the crowd was electric. It was definitely a cool experience.”

After helping Galway United avoid relegation and reach a final in the League Cup, Keegan is now turning his attention back to North America, linking up with FC Edmonton.

“I heard a lot of good things about the club and when I was talking to Colin [Miller, head coach of the Eddies] about his vision, you can tell there are expectations and the club wants to build on where they’ve been,” Keegan, a native of Stormville, N.Y., said. “That’s the type of situation any player wants to be in. You want to be with a club that is ambitious and wants to have success. It seems like a good fit for me and coming back to the North America was something I wanted to at some point. This was as good of an opportunity as any.”

Keegan can play in every position in the final third, but where exactly he’ll slot in should be determined when he joins up with his teammates for preseason.

“This past season I played out on the left, out on the right, through the middle on my own and underneath as a second striker,” he said. “I’ve played just about every attacking position.

“You never know with a new team where you’re going to fit in before you go and train and play matches.”

Joining the NASL, most of the New York native’s knowledge of the league comes from watching the Cosmos. With the quality of play he has seen from afar, he expects to need a period to acclimate to his new surroundings, but hopes the process is a swift one.

“It seems like a high level of play and there’s huge names – Marcos Senna and Raúl are retiring – but there are big names in the league,” Keegan said. “It is a league that will take time to adapt to for any new player. I hope I acclimate to the league quickly and have some success early on.”

A match against the Cosmos, though, will present a rare opportunity for Keegan’s friends and family – a chance to watch the striker play.

“It’s more exciting for my family and friends,” he said. “They haven’t gotten to see me play really – my family came once to Ireland last season. For the most part friends and family haven’t gotten to see me play since college.

“Anytime a big crowd comes out to watch you, you want to do well so from that standpoint I’m looking forward to it.”

While the striker wasn’t goal shy during his time in Ireland, Keegan hasn’t set a target for goals he would like to get in his first year in Edmonton instead focusing on trying to help the team score in each match he takes the field.

“The way I look at it as a striker you want to have an impact on the team scoring goals whether it’s setting them up or scoring them,” he said. “If you go into each game with the goal of scoring as the season carries on you’re going to get a good amount of goals. I don’t look at it as I want to score a ton of goals this season, I just want to score a goal in the next game we play. That has led to scoring a good amount of goals in the last two seasons.”

If he can continue to play bigger than his 5-8 stature, FC Edmonton may just be one step closer to reaching The Championship, the league’s four-team postseason tournament, after narrowly missing out the past few seasons.

“The goal for the club is to make the playoffs, so that’s the only goal I’m worried about,” Keegan said.