Kelly Calligan, Photo Editor

San Diego State men’s soccer senior goalie Tally Hall knows hard work and perseverance pay off.

When he was in high school, he didn’t start on his under-18 club team.

And when he was looking at colleges to play for out of high school, his home state’s best team, the University of Washington, didn’t even consider him.

Now, few goalies in the nation could start over Hall, who has received his fair share of awards and recognition since he joined the SDSU men’s soccer team in 2003.

An All-American the last two years.

All-Pac-10 Conference the last two years.

All-Far West Region the last two years.

Furthermore, he has helped guide the Aztecs from mediocrity to NCAA Tournament regulars since they transitioned from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to the Pac-10 two years ago.

“One of the things he has done tremendously well over the years is taken to what we’ve asked him to accomplish and gone out and done it,” head coach Lev Kirshner said. “If we said he had a weakness in an area, he worked on it until it was his strength.

“Here’s a kid who was having a hard time getting a full game with his club team at under-18 (competition) and has developed into the best goalkeeper in the country.”

Hall was one of 15 semifinalists this year for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Award – an award given to the top college player in the nation – and he was the only goalie in that group.

He also led the Pac-10 in saves (80) and was tied for second in save percentage (80 percent).

But Hall’s transformation from bench warmer to college star hasn’t shocked Kirshner.

“There’s no surprise that he was going to make it because he was the one guy after every single training session that was spending at least 20 or 30 minutes out there,” Kirshner said. “We would go through an hour and a half, two hours of training and then training would be done, and we’d leave and Tally would be out there.”

After SDSU lost, 2-1, to eventual national champion UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year, Kirshner said he wouldn’t be missing the explosive talent of Hall but rather Hall the person.

Senior forward Andrew DiCicco, who was Hall’s roommate for four years, echoed this sentiment.

“He’s a special player and, more importantly, he’s a special person,” DiCicco said. “I think the mixture of talent and attributes make him a very good player on its own, but when you add the mentality to be a champion, that’s what makes Tally great.”

Whether Hall’s road leads to professional soccer in the future, that can’t be certain.

But one thing is for sure.

He will always be remembered for what he did for the Aztecs.

“I can’t imagine where the Aztecs would be without Tally Hall,” DiCicco said.