Men’s Soccer
An emotion-filled weekend for the UKC men, who return to the ACAA Playoffs following a three-year hiatus. The Blue Devils received league recognition Friday evening for their terrific season, accepting a handful of ACAA awards. Freshman midfielder, Michael Zinck, was voted ACAA Rookie of the Year, senior keeper and captain, Rylan Logan, was awarded ACAA Keeper of the Year, and Head Coach, Jamie McGinnis, was voted by his peers ACAA Coach of the Year. Elsewhere, Keynan Harvey, Luke Kotaska and UKC women’s defender Kaylee Downey were recognized as All Conference Second Team. The aforementioned Zinck, Ewan McKinnon and UKC women’s midfielder Simona Busillo received All Conference First Team awards.
The Kingsmen entered the playoffs as the third overall seed, slated to play the second-place Holland College Hurricanes in the semi-finals. A stalemate through the first hour, the Blue Devils believed they’d broken the deadlock in the 78th minute, when a shot rattled the underside of the crossbar and glanced off the gloves of the keeper. Despite a ripple of the net, the linesmen and referee agreed no goal, with the score remaining 0-0. Twelve minutes later regulation expired with the match destined for extra time. The first 15 minutes of the extra time passed uneventfully, with both sides retreating to the sidelines after 105 minutes, still scoreless. The deadlock finally broke around the 115th minute, with a trickling shot from Clay Kelly sneaking its way into the UKC corner. This was the only goal of the match and punched Holland’s ticket to the ACAA Final.
Despite the season ending with a narrow loss, the UKC men can reflect on their last two months as some of the brightest in the team’s recent history. A thriving batch of freshmen and sophomore players represent a promising future for Jamie McGinnis’s side, with the roster’s sole departure being senior Matt Hines, who may yet be convinced to take a fifth year. The most difficult challenge for the Blue Devils now is simply enduring the ten-month purgatory before the new season kick off in 2023.
Results:
ACAA Semi Final vs. Holland College: 0-1 Loss
