An ardor for soccer and physics has defined senior midfielder Jacob Niemann’s career at Hamline. He is among the few who are involved both athletically and academically, in addition to being an active member in the military.

After speaking with head coach Al Morawiecki about Niemann’s dedication to Hamline’s men’s soccer team, Morawiecki gave insight into the kinds of contributions Niemann brings to the team.

“He’s very vocal when he needs to be, but the great thing about his leadership style is that he’s consistent and that he brings it every day. His performances are what guys follow,” Morawiecki said. “He’s an attack-minded, two-way box-to-box midfielder who does a lot of different things really well and we lean on that a lot; he’s our one senior.”

Junior center-back James Nash expresses what kind of a teammate Niemann is.

“Jake is definitely your natural born leader….He is very dedicated to the team and would give anything to see us do better,” Nash said. “He is a great guy to have as a friend, as a teammate. He is the ideal guy to have to watch your back. Overall [a] great captain.”

Niemann has been playing soccer for more than 10 years and hopes to play soccer for the Minnesota United FC reserve. He was recruited to Hamline by former coach Jon Lowery. Niemann fell in love with the campus, the personalized atmosphere, and most importantly, with the physics program that is offered here at Hamline. Niemann expressed why he picked Hamline over St. Thomas University.

“The people here—the collective intelligence as well as the attitude,” Niemann said. “I was looking at St. Thomas and everybody there didn’t really mesh with who I liked to associate with, at least with the people I met.”

As a midfielder, Niemann fell in love with the team, which was another reason why he decided to place his mark at Hamline.

“It’s a wonderful atmosphere that we create a family over here that is unlike anything I’ve ever really experienced and that’s including every club sport I’ve grown up playing, being in the military…this is similar but if not better,” Niemann said. “So that is really the one thing I love playing here and extending my career an extra four years beyond club soccer.”

Niemann is majoring in physics and will pursue his career in aerospace engineering. He recently accepted a job offer as product design engineer for Honeywell International, Inc.; an American company that produces commercial and consumer goods, services and aerospace systems for a wide spread of private consumers to major corporations and governments. This upcoming June he will take his first step toward executing his career as an engineer.

Niemann is also an avionics mechanic who specializes in electrical maintenance and repair for aircrafts and helicopters for the military. In hopes of becoming a pilot for the military, Niemann reveals his passion for planes—another reason why he is pursuing his career in physics, a major that will open many doors for him.

“For a really long time, I always wanted to be an engineer, [which is] why I’m getting a physics degree. The reason I chose [to be] in aerospace engineering for Honeywell is [because] I love being around…anything to do with planes or flying,” said Niemann. “Anything like

that I’ve always loved.”

Coach Morawiecki recognizes Niemann for the kind of person he is on and off the field.

“Jake is unique in the sense that he took an untraditional path with the military so he’s had the time to mature as a person. His leadership qualities are second to none, he’s a focused student as a physics guy and on the field, he brings a lot of different things.”

With three MIAC games left and needing to run the table to have a shot at the playoffs, Jake Niemann and the men’s soccer team will take the field against St. John’s on Oct. 22 at 3:30 p.m.