West Salem Aeschliman brothers reunited 2,000 miles from home at Goshen College

On the soccer field, brothers Spencer and Stuart Aeschliman have distinctly different skill sets.

Off the field, they have drastically different personalities.

Their teammates on Goshen College men’s soccer team this fall often pointed out the differences.

“A lot of times they say that they can’t believe that we’re brothers because we act so differently, both on the field and just in general,” Spencer said.

The West Salem High School graduates were reunited at the NAIA college in northern Indiana this fall and as teammates helped the team – in significantly different ways – to its most successful season in a decade.

Spencer, a junior and 2015 graduate of West Salem, has been entrenched as a member of Goshen’s soccer team as a starting defender – and team captain – since his freshman year.

Stuart, a freshman, had an immediate influence on the Maple Leafs as the team’s leading scorer from his forward position.

“I had no idea what kind of an impact I was going to make,” Stuart said. “I know it could have been a lot better. I could have finished a lot more chances. I can work more on that next year and be more consistent.”

Stuart played in 18 games as a freshman, started 13, scored 12 goals and had six assists. He was named a first-team all-Crossroads League selection and was the NAIA Offensive Player of the Week once during the season.

Spencer scored one goal, the second of his college career, and was chosen a first-team Academic All-American with a 3.99 grade-point average.

“College is definitely a different atmosphere within the team, for sure,” said Spencer, a physics major. “We definitely had different roles on the field than in high school.

“Me, for example, I played more of a defensive role compared to high school when I was more offensive alongside him. We play together in a bit different sense now.”

When at Goshen, the Aeschliman brothers see each other every day and share a car, but they are not roommates.

Spencer lives in a house just off campus and Stuart lives in a dorm with a view of Spencer’s house.

“I keep an eye on him, making sure he’s not getting in trouble,” said Stuart, a business major. “He should be keeping an eye on me.”

The Aeschliman’s first cousin Oliver Wisseman – who played in high school at Western Mennonite – was a senior goalkeeper on Goshen’s team this season and appeared in six matches. He was an academic all-conference selection this season as well.

“We’ve never been on a soccer team with him before,” Spencer said. “He brings a really good competitive aspect, which is really awesome. He plays a really big leadership role in terms of focus and hard work on the team.”

Wisseman is only one of numerous ties the Aeschlimans have to Goshen.

Their parents, Jeff and Margaret, both attended Goshen. Both sets of grandparents attended Goshen as did a couple great-grandparents. Countless aunts, uncles and cousins have attended the college.

There were times when one of the brothers would be in a class at Goshen next to a stranger and find out they are third cousins.

Stuart was an All-American soccer player at West Salem and had options about which college he would attend, or so he thought.

Among the college soccer programs that showed interest in him was Division I University of Portland.

Goshen coach Aaron Patrick and the program’s other coaches recruited him.

“But ultimately I had family constantly encouraging me, and my grandma, ‘Oh, we’d love to have you at Goshen College,’ every time I saw her,” Stuart said.

“It’s something I want to do for soccer and want to do for academics, but also just runs in the family and it’s something that would make a lot of people happy as well.”

Despite being two years apart and participating in many of the same activities growing up, the Aeschliman brothers rarely had rivalries.

Except on the driveway basketball court in front of their house.

It got to the point where their parents would warn them every time they went out to play that they were about to fight.

Which brother was the better basketball player is still debated.

“It was me,” Spencer said. 

“I would say I was better,” Stuart counters.

“It was definitely me,” Spencer rebuts.

“My 3-point shooting, unstoppable,” Stuart concludes.

They agree they’re happy they get one more season as teammates on the soccer field at Goshen.

After all, it’s not often siblings are teammates once, let alone twice.

“We had a little preview of it in high school, and then not being together, not playing together made me miss that,” Spencer said. “So having it back again, I definitely appreciate it quite a bit. I’ll continue to in the future.”

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler