The University of Tampa’s women’s soccer team includes just nine upperclassmen and came into this season without a star goaltender.
An offseason fueled by recruiting young talent may have paid dividends, though, as UT landed its hopeful heir-apparent goalkeeper in Mackenzie Logan.
Logan moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., from Ohio before high school, and attended Tampa Preparatory Academy for four years before choosing UT.
“After Tampa Prep, I knew a lot about UT because it was so close by,” Logan said. “I liked the idea of small class sizes, and the campus is beautiful. It had everything I was looking for. And, of course, a nationally ranked soccer team seemed attractive.”
In high school, Logan was the starting goalie. She averaged fewer than 1.5 goals against and recorded six shutouts throughout her senior season, and helped the team move deep into state tournament play. Additionally, she played club soccer for Hillsborough County United, a team she also led into the state tournament.
However, Logan knew college soccer would be much tougher competition than she’d experienced.
“I’ve played a lot in my life, but the main difference between club and high school against college is the speed. It’s so much faster,” she said. “Adjusting to shots that come quicker and from further distances is more difficult, but I’m getting used to it.”
In practice, Logan gets a lot of reps in net. She’s working on her agility and speed so she can adapt more quickly.
“I’m working on my reaction time every day. Just getting the ball out of the box quickly and trying not to make mental mistakes. The more reps I get in practice, the closer I’ll be to performing at a higher level.”
One of her initial concerns going into the season was that there might be some playful freshman hazing going on, as is sometimes the custom for college athletics.
When asked, she laughed and said, “Actually, there hasn’t been any. Everyone has been great. The whole team tries to make everyone else better. And when a team works like that, for each other, the benefits are great.”
In addition to the support from her teammates ushering in the new class with positive reinforcement, the coaches have also helped Logan a great deal with her skill set.
Head coach Gerry Lucey has high hopes for Logan, and anticipates her having a great impact on the school.
“We have two excellent goalkeeping coaches in Shannon Aitken and Kevin Keelan who I trust will get the best out of Mackenzie in the coming months and years,” Lucey said.
“We are hopeful that Mackenzie will become the starting goalkeeper during her time at UT.”
Mackenzie is currently a general studies major at UT and is undecided as to what she wants to do with her future. For the time being, she’s enjoying her time and is sure that she made the right choice in becoming a Spartan.
“I’m glad I decided on UT because it’s a really positive environment. The people that go here, and the teachers and coaches are all optimistic.
“I’m looking forward to this season and many more after it.”
Greg Spracklin can be reached at gspracklin@spartans.ut.edu.
The Spartan Women continue their season with home games against Valdosta State on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. and Georgia College on Sept. 18 at 10 a.m.