Chapman’s Aidan Wall scores 19th hat trick in program history

Men’s soccer player Aidan Wall, a senior computer science major, recalled his long soccer journey after recording his first career hat trick. Courtesy of Larry Newsman

Senior forward Aidan Wall entered a Sept. 25 soccer match against La Verne with 14 career goals and walked off the field that night with three more and a win — a momentous occasion after years of hard work. 

However, Wall’s aspirations were not always set on soccer; he initially wanted to pursue baseball. Given his Cuban roots, Wall said he was predisposed to an interest in baseball, and his dominant left hand gave him an advantage. 

It wasn’t until he moved to Argentina for a year in seventh grade that his mind started to change. There, soccer was the priority, more so than school.

“I was playing soccer three to four hours a day … so I got good there,” Wall said. 

A Redwood City native, Wall began dabbling in soccer at age six, playing for the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO). When he moved back to the U.S. from Argentina, he continued to play on a more intensive level with Alpine Strikers FC (ASFC) — a competitive youth soccer club — from ages 13-19.

Wall later applied to Chapman as a business major, but has since changed his major to computer science. Once he was accepted to the school, he marketed himself to longtime men’s soccer coach Eddie Carrillo. Four years later, on the heels of a hat trick in his senior season, Wall reflected on his time playing at Chapman. 

He recalled his favorite memory, which took place during his freshman year at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) men’s soccer semi-final game: triumphantly scoring the game-winning penalty kick in a shootout against a nationally-ranked Claremont team on their own turf. This took Chapman men’s soccer to the SCIAC championship — which they eventually won — making them the first team in program history to win the SCIAC Tournament title. 

Wall finished his freshman campaign leading the team with six goals, then came back his sophomore year and netted four more — another team high. His junior season was canceled amid the pandemic, so he’s been eager to play this season.

“I haven’t played since sophomore year, when I was still an underclassman,” Wall said. “It’s different being a senior and having people look up to you.”

So far, just over halfway into his senior season, Wall is leading the SCIAC in goals, points and shots. He has scored seven goals across just five games, which includes his hat trick against La Verne. 

“I don't really remember it; it just felt good,” Wall told The Panther when asked about his hat trick. “We went up 1-0 and then they tied it …When you go into halftime tied, even though you're much better than the (other) team, anything can happen. So I was just like, let's just win this game.”

Caden Long, a sophomore business major, was in attendance that night and compared it to that of a World Cup overtime goal. He said “the crowd erupted” upon Wall’s third goal. 

He also scored a fourth goal that was called off-sides by the referee, but Wall said he is  skeptical of that being true. Nevertheless, he is focused on the last half of the season now, and his plan for it is simple. 

“I am going to create opportunities, and I just have to finish them,” Wall said. “When I do that, it shouldn't be that hard.”

Despite having 18 underclassmen, Wall believes the team has a solid depth chart that could help carry them towards postseason success and maybe even capture the SCIAC title, finishing the way he started. 

Beyond that, Wall doesn’t know what’s in store.

Though he is eligible to play another season because of the blanket waiver from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, whether he will or not is “to be determined,” according to Wall.