Kursten von Klahr - a native of Kannapolis, North Carolina - was announced as Presbyterian College's new Assistant Women's Soccer Coach on January 24, 2024. von Klahr arrives at PC after playing for and later coaching alongside current head coach of the Blue Hose, Matt Smith, at his pervious stop of Kansas State.

“I am beyond excited to have Kursten join our staff”, remarked Smith, who became the second-ever head coach of the Blue Hose on December 30. “Her high-level playing experience and knowledge of the game will benefit our program immediately.”

“Kursten will be a great role model for our student-athletes, on and off the field. She shares the vision I have for this program and will be a huge part of building the amazing things we have coming in the near future”.

Playing the midfield / defender spot for her collegiate career (which also included two seasons at NC State before transferring to Manhattan), von Klahr was named a Team Captain in her 2022 senior season before going on to finish her KSU tenure with 42 starts out of 42 opportunities.

During her final year as a player, von Klahr led the Wildcats to the program’s first ever Big 12 Tournament ticket and was named the team MVP in the process.

While in her farewell season, Kursten assumed a career-high in minutes (1,553) while tallying two assists in meetings against UTRGV and Colorado State. Over her three seasons with KSU – which included the abbreviated Spring ’21 stretch – she logged over 3,100 minutes to go with 25 shots (eight on-goal).

That ’22 club achieved conference victories over the likes of Baylor and Oklahoma, presenting von Klahr to make the transition to the coaching role for the ensuing fall campaign.

In her lone season as a Kansas State instructor alongside Smith, von Klahr helped organize recruiting visits, evaluated players at showcase camps, created scouting reports and broke down film of opponents, crafted practice training plans, and assisted athletes in all aspects of soccer.

She’d spend her underclassman stint with NC State, part of a squad that collected 23 combined victories in 2018 and 2019 while adding back-to-back Sweet Sixteen ventures to boot. As a freshman, von Klahr’s Wolfpack grabbed ranked wins over #10 South Carolina and #20 Princeton.

After grabbing her first college goal in an ACC victory over Syracuse, Kursten turned into the hero of a drama-filled Round of 32 contest versus Santa Clara that came after an opening-round triumph opposite Northwestern. Against the Broncos, von Klahr ripped in the match-clinching penalty kick to help her unit win the PK battle 5-4 and move on to the Regional Quarterfinals.

Her sophomore season in Raleigh entailed two more nationally-ranked W’s over #7 Georgetown and #14 Louisville, repeating a Sweet Sixteen spot by defeating Navy and Arkansas in the big dance.

Kursten was a three-time All-Conference and All-Region selection while playing for her father, Harald, at Northwest Cabarrus High School in NC. She was selected for All-State status as a junior, chosen as the South Piedmont Conference Player of the Year and later aiding the Carolina Rapids U19/20 team to the 2017 USYS National Championship.

von Klahr received a Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Nutrition from Kansas State University in 2022, currently working towards a Master’s diploma in Academic Advising.