Senior Night. That end of season tradition that honors the time, energy, and commitment players have put into a program. For the Eagles, they’ll honor their seniors, including Brennan Klein and Leon Musial, before playing Syracuse in the final regular season match tonight. Though it’s a celebration of their time at Boston College, it’s also a celebration of all the work that preceded playing Division I soccer—work that their parents know all too well.
Both Musial and Klein have had different, and at times difficult, journeys to be standing on Newton Soccer Field being honored for their contributions to the team. Musial transferred into BC his junior year, while Klein’s only full season has been his senior one, earning the starting role halfway through his sophomore season before injuries kept him from finishing the season and starting the next. But for both Musial and Klein, there was never a question that they would end up having senior night honors in soccer.
Michael Musial wrote that “Leon always had a ball in his hands/on his foot[ the literal German expression]/at his foot [the American expression].” (The Musial’s are from Germany and responded in German, prompting Leon to text “I have good news and bad news. The good news: my parents answered your questions. The bad news: it’s in German.) Michael Musial was a goalkeeper as well and Leon “often went to games with his dad and while the dad played Leon constantly played and practiced with his ball.” From the beginning, “Leon wanted to train being a goalie with his dad.”
Likewise, when asked about the moment they knew it was going to be soccer, Chris and Danielle Klein wrote about the first time Brennan Klein joined a “local team.” At the end of the first practice, “The coach met us after the first practice to inform us that Brennan outplayed all the other kids by dribbling, scoring goals, and blocking shots while everyone else was crying and running in circles.” Needless to say, the coach informed the Kleins “This kid knows what he’s doing! He needs to be on a competitive team!”
Although both seniors play the same position and both had a moment that made their parents know they were all in as seniors, it’s clear there’s no one size fits all goalkeeper personality.
Ursula Musial describes her son as a “charming young man” with “a hard shell and a big heart inside.” She points out that he’s both “a good analyst” and “self-reflective.” He’s “goal-oriented, the opposite of messy, and always well-dressed.” More than that, “he is authentic and honest, a good listener and an even better observer. He insists on his viewpoint [the German is not negative here, but perhaps a better translation is: he holds his line].”
When it comes to soccer, she describes him as someone who “takes on many challenges and has a strong will and tenacity.” In a sports metaphor that doesn’t quite translate from German to English, she describes her son as “always on the ball” (the closer English translation is that he’s always on top of things.) She adds “he’s a fair team player who respects everyone.”
Mr. Musial tacks on that outside of football, Leon is “organized, disciplined, reliable, conscientious, independent.” Within football, he’s “ambitious, disciplined, loves comradery, hates to lose, hates when others score against him.” The overlap on answers demonstrates how impossible it is sometimes to separate the soccer player from the person.
Brennan Klein, outside of soccer, is described as having “a magnetic personality. People have always been drawn to his fun and vibrant character.”
On the soccer field, his parents describe him as “fiercely competitive and plays with grit and heart.” Echoing what his teammates have said about him in past interviews, they note that Brennan “lives and breathes soccer as if it is not only his passion but a way of life.” In a nod to his character, his parents add “he is loyal to his teammates and loyal to BC.”
And while the two goalies couldn’t be more different in terms of how their parents describe them and how they choose to play the game, both have a soccer story that easily defines who they are.
Brennan Klein’s comes from an interview in 2022 after a 3-1 loss to Wake Forest, where the then junior was asked about being “‘one of the most aggressive goalkeepers in the ACC, if not college soccer.’” His response was that “he wants what’s best for the team and that he loves Newton.” His parents add that “Brennan has always made playing soccer about much more than himself.”
For the Musial’s, the stories differ but the theme is stepping up in big moments.
Michael Musial highlights the game where, “Leon had to jump in as goalie because the starter was injured.” With the game going to a penalty shootout, the pressure was on, but “he played superbly in the penalty shootout. He saved three of them and thereby made it possible for his team to go on.” The moral of the story? “Leon is always 100% a team player, always there when needed.”
Ursula Musial agrees, noting that Leon has played organized soccer since he was five. Playing for so long makes it difficult to have one defining moment as “there were many moments where his talent shown through and that confirmed that he was and wanted to be a soccer player.” His years with FC Ingolstadt “made him a very good goalie.” But more than the trophies that come with being a good goalie, “he meets every team member with respect and values them,” a trait that likely helped the senior to “often [be] chosen as the team captain.”
While both Leon Musial and Brennan Klein would be comfortable only being described in soccer terms, there are stories from outside soccer that explain who they are as well.
Ursula Musial brings up Leon’s 18th birthday where “his friends gave him, for his birthday, a little piglet.” The “running gag from his friends” ended up being “a lot of work for a few days and a fun memory.” What ultimately happened to the piglet did not make the Musial’s answers, leaving it a mystery.
The non-soccer story to explain Brennan Klein mentions his “participation in the school talent show” when he was little. His performances were legendary enough that “every year, the kids and teachers would look forward to seeing Brennan on stage.” Perhaps this doesn’t shock fans who are used to the senior’s theatrics, whether that’s a shrug after making a save or the equivalent of a that-shouldn’t-have-happened-but-my save-was-easy-money look when he’s called into action. Regardless, his parents report that “one of his best performances” involved “a solo dance under black light with all the girls screaming ‘Brennan, Brennan!’”
Playing soccer at BC means also being a student, and both the Musials and Kleins can point out their sons’ favorite classes…or at least the ones they talk the most about.
The Kleins are the most united, naming Geomorphology as Brennan’s favorite class, mostly because “he enjoys sharing tidbits he’s learned from that particular class.” Most importantly, Geomorphology “has added to his knowledge bank” since the environmental studies major “is somewhat of a walking encyclopedia of random and interesting facts.”
Michael Musial lists simply Victimology with Ann Burgess as Leon Musial’s favorite class, while Ursula Musial noted that Leon “talked about public speaking a lot.” The difference likely boils down to the age-old debate of whether or not the class a student talks the most about is that student’s actual favorite class.
And while both seniors are enjoying both academics and soccer at BC, their parents make a point to mention the distance their sons have traveled to play soccer.
Upon committing to BC, one of the first thoughts “was that Phoenix is a long way from Boston.” Although “[Brennan] has maintained close relationships with his family and friends in Arizona despite the distance,” his parents admit it’s “difficult to be far away and unable to be in the stands for all his games.” They “make up for that by having watch parties at our house” where “seeing his expressions up close on the TV when he plays really helps us feel connected to him.”
Humorously, Ursula Musial points out that as a child, “[Leon] never liked to have sleepovers because he was homesick.” Now, “he’s the only one of the family who lives on a different continent.” She also notes that perhaps the biggest challenge “was and is to fit himself into a new culture alone and without the direct help or support of his family.” At times, part of the challenge was “to deal with homesickness and to acknowledge to himself that he was homesick.”
At the end of their collegiate soccer careers, it’s clear that both sets of parents are proud of their sons for all their accomplishments in soccer.
Ursula Musial’s favorite moment of the past two years was Leon’s start where the team won 5-2 against Quinnipiac. It was Leon’s first start in a BC uniform.
Michael Musial’s was different, but still involved a first start: Leon’s first ACC game against Duke.
And Danielle Klein’s favorite came this year, in a matchup against Wake Forest where “Brennan had a double, behind the back save. It was as if he had Velcro and the ball just stuck to him effortlessly.”
Senior night honors those moments and allows the senior and their parents to take pride in all the different soccer accomplishments over the past years. But more than the on the field awards, or soccer difficulties overcome, the Klein’s and Musial’s are most proud of the people their sons have become at BC.
When asked what she is most proud of, Ursula Musial writes simply “everything I’ve mentioned here.” Meaning the way her son has overcome the difficulties of playing in America, of transferring to BC, of fighting for his playing time, and of who he’s become by having to be so independent while creating new relationships in a different place. Michael Musial adds “it is simply a dream to see Leon’s rise in the last few years.” Adding, not just at BC but in the past four years, “he was able to strengthen and further develop his positive characteristics and worked on his deficits and was able to overcome them.”
For Danielle and Chris Klein, they’re most proud of “Brennan’s ability to connect with people and find ways to make them feel valued and understood.” On senior night (really all the time), the Kleins are “so extremely proud of Brennan.” It’s pointed out that “his commitment and determination as a student and athlete have led him to this moment.” Despite the ups and downs of the past four years, “it’s extremely rewarding to see him continue to pursue his greatest passion, soccer, while also earning his degree in environmental studies.”
Perhaps the best way to summarize the experiences contained within senior night comes from the dedication to Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow: “The pages that follow are dedicated to the children who once upon a time, years ago, crossed my path on Calella de la costa. They had been playing soccer and singing “we lost, we won//either way we had fun”
Whatever happens once the whistle blows on senior night, the hope is that the four and five-year-old kids who knew all those years ago that it was always soccer can say the same.
An immense thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Musial and Mr. and Mrs. Klein for taking the time to provide such thoughtful answers!
Translation of Mr. and Mrs. Musial’s answers provided by Professor Franziska Seraphim
Making mountains out of molehills and facts out of printers since the turn of the century
