Hailing from Pittsford, New York, junior defenseman Nick Keneally has proved to be the Knight to watch this week as the soccer season revs up for the fall. Excited to help mentor and encourage the team’s young talent, the selfless player hopes to make the most of this year after playing in a total of 12 games in the previous season. The second oldest out of four siblings, Keneally is no stranger to teamwork and competition. His father played Division III basketball and molded Keneally into a great athlete, introducing him to an athletic career at the early age of three.
“I played every sport, not just specializing in one,” Keneally said. “I played basketball, soccer and baseball all throughout high school.”
Close to home, the ever affordable and esteemed Geneseo proved to be the perfect school, as the then-undecided Keneally was able to play soccer and figure out what he wanted from his college career—which he has since realized is a career in accounting.
It was during his time as a freshman soccer player that he was lovingly nicknamed Tom; another clichéd American name that just seemed to stick. Nowadays, no one on the team calls him Nick, including the coaches.
Championing his soccer team as captain back in high school, they won the state championship under his leadership. With this in mind, he hopes to push the Knights forward this season and to set goals for the team to keep this momentum going.
“Making the SUNYAC Tournament is our first goal, and once we get there, anything can happen,” Keneally said. “I think we have enough to win the SUNYACs.”
The self-proclaimed “hype man” of his team loves getting the men ready for a big game. The right back remembers the importance of starting a season off right. One of his favorite moments with the team was the opening game last year, which was on the first day the turf opened. Geneseo battled rival University of Rochester and won, which served as a big upset to their competitors. It set the tone for the year and Keneally loved doing so well in front of so many fans.
When Keneally isn’t hyping up his team or leading on the field, he spends his summers working with children as a camp counselor. Although it was his favorite job and he can see himself going back in the future, he expanded his palette and worked in a warehouse over this past summer, too.
Keneally plans to put his accounting major to good use, though. Post-graduation, Keneally hopes to stay in Geneseo for the fifth year of his accounting program and to achieve his master’s after passing the Certified Public Accountant exam. After that, he hopes to go to a big city, such as New York or Boston.
Overall, Keneally is a team player that cares for the well-being of his teammates. Hopefully his charisma and talent will help carry the men’s soccer team to the SUNYACs.
“[Soccer] is not about how many goals you score, but about how you help the team and make everyone better,” Keneally said.