Incoming Hall of Famer Gamble’s soccer career still going strong
ERIE — Scoring goals was Jake Gamble’s forte on the soccer pitch. Securing relationships was the biggest accomplishment in his mind.
“The guys, the relationships and friendships we cemented, that’s what I remember most,” Gamble said of his men’s soccer career at Penn State Behrend. “They weren’t just in soccer, they were from all sports.
“I loved that place.”
Gamble, a 2009 Butler graduate, a forward for the Lions and the program’s all-time leading scorer at the time of his graduation, is one of 10 individuals who will be inducted into the Behrend Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 7.
Two of the other inductees this year — basketball player Russ Conley and baseball player Ryan Kragnes — were roommates of Gamble’s at Behrend. A third inductee, baseball player Matt Bittner, was a good friend.
“We always supported each other,” Gamble said. “We went to each other’s games all the time. The best man at my wedding was a Behrend athlete. We had strong bonds there.
“Going into the Hall of Fame along with such close friends is super cool. It’s very special to me.”
Gamble’s Butler teams advanced past the first round of the WPIAL playoffs one time. He was an All-WPIAL selection and was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Golden Tornado’s section.
His Behrend teams reached the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship game in each of the four years he was there.
“Medaille was our biggest rival. We always played them in the finals,” Gamble said. “The game I most remember was a regular season game against them. I assisted on the game-winning goal we scored with two seconds left.
“That’s among the top10 Behrend sports memories of all time.”
While he didn’t score that goal, Gamble scored plenty of others. Over his final three collegiate seasons, he tallied 54 goals and 13 assists. He scored a school single-season record 22 goals in his senior season of 2012.
Gamble left the program as its record holder in career goals, career points, most goals in a season and most points in a season. He led the Lions to an AMCC and ECAC championship.
Behrend upset the No. 5 team in the nation, Hobart, during the postseason and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Gamble was a three-time All-AMCC selection, two-time All-Region choice and was the first Behrend player to be named an NSCAA All-American. He was also named AMCC Offensive Player of the Year.
Now working in sales and living in Erie, Gamble is married and the couple recently had their first child. Gamble is the junior varsity soccer coach and assistant to the varsity coach at Harbor Creek High School.
“I’m in the process of giving back,” he said. “I am very much still involved with soccer. I love coaching and I’m enjoying moving into this next phase of my life.”
