The men’s soccer team is making history for King’s athletics this season as they dominate the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) with an undefeated season and no goals scored against them.

Jamie McGinnis has been involved with the men’s soccer program since 2011 and is in his seventh year as head coach. He said he has never seen such success from a team in all his years coaching for the Blue Devils.

“We just love this group of players,” McGinnis said. “We were expecting it to be good, but I don’t know if we were expecting it to be this good.”

McGinnis led his team to the ACAA championship in 2023, a title they had not received since 2008. He said he hopes for the same results this season.

“If you nail your team environment, then winning is a byproduct of that,” says McGinnis.

Luke Kotaska, a fourth-year student, is the top goal scorer for the Blue Devils this season. He said he is proud to be part of this team.

 “We’re just here to play and have a fun, competitive team,” Kotaska said. “The longer you have a core group of guys together, it becomes more solid and robust.”

Kotaska was recruited in 2022 from Yellowknife and received a starting position in his rookie year. He currently sits at seven goals this season and helped secure a 1-0 win against St. Thomas University (STU) on Sept. 21, with an assist to Ignacio Chung-Michelson.

“Beating STU was definitely something on my bucket list,” said Jonah Cameron, the team captain. “They have been our top competitor since my first year.”

Cameron is in his fifth year at King’s and said it’s an honour to be completing his final year with what he describes as his on-campus family.

“Five years of winning, struggling and losing together is what really bonds a group of people,” Cameron said. “Someone will eventually score on us, and how we react will determine how well we do.” 

This year’s roster includes 11 seniors, including Liam Collings, a fourth-year goalkeeper who has played a crucial role in their 12-game shutout.

Collings said he did not expect to go this many games with no goals against, “especially after last season, where the first five games, I think we conceded more than 10 goals.”

Collings was announced ACAA athlete of the week on Sept. 23, after an outstanding performance in their first game against STU. He said his team’s next step is winning the championship title and securing a spot at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship.

“It’d be good for the young guys to get the experience of going to Nationals and seeing the top level of soccer there is in our league,” said Collings.

McGinnis said Collings, Cameron and Kotaska have helped in building a positive team culture for first years like Quinlan Glenen, who was recruited from Grand-Barachois, N.B.

Glenen is enrolled in the Foundation Year Program and said despite the difficult balance between school and soccer, the support from his team has helped him settle into a new environment.

“I hope with all the players graduating, we’re able to maintain the same culture and intensity,” Glenen said. “Hopefully we get a new group of recruits who are enthusiastic and willing to compete.”

When looking for recruits, McGinnis said he asks players about work ethic, leadership experience and how they are as teammates.

“Your job is to be an excellent teammate and then you develop leadership skills from there,” said McGinnis.

McGinnis said what makes this group of players particularly special is the right mix of leadership and a desire to win that emulates through the entire team.

“Whether we were 10 and 0 or 0 and 10 right now, we would be equally as enthusiastic because of this group.”