Her winning kick

Kelly Kempf scored two goals in her collegiate soccer career, and they were arguably the two biggest goals in her team’s history.

Kempf, an outside midfielder, kicked the winning score in the University of Albany’s game over Hartford on Nov. 8 to secure her team its first every league title. The Great Danes captured the America East Championship after its 2-1 win, with the deciding goal Kempf’s long-range shot in the 88th minute.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I felt on top of the world after it happened.”

Kempf, of Wantagh, is a senior at Albany where she is studying communications. She graduated from MacArthur High School in 2012 and was a five-year varsity player for the Generals, including captain of the girls’ soccer team her junior and senior years.

She said she has been playing soccer for 20 years, getting her start when she was 2 with the Snoopy league in Levittown. She then moved onto the Levittown Lightning, a travel soccer team, which won a state tournament during her tenure. Kempf also played for the Albertson Fury.

It all led up to her big moment against Hartford. Kempf said that the season started off strong, then the team hit a bit of a slump. After scoring her first collegiate goal ever, the game-winner in a road game against the University of Vermont, her team’s momentum changed and they won every game for the rest of the year to secure a playoff spot.

With a team that has been together for a few years, Kempf said they went into the season with a playoff-bound mentality. “We felt that this was our year,” she said. “We really wanted it.”

When the team hit a slump, Kempf said she and the other senior members made it clear to the rest of the players that it was time to start winning. And by spending more time together and working harder, they did.

“No matter how hard things get, you have to keep your chin up,” she said. “You just have to work hard and hope that it pays off.”

Her coach, Caitlin Cucchiella, had high praise for the senior. “Kelly provided the spark that we needed when it counted,” she said. “It was a tremendous way to end her career in the America East.”

As an assistant captain this year, Kempf said that she has done her best to serve as a role model for the younger players. Although she graduates in May, she wishes them good luck and hopes they can repeat as champions next year.

‘This is my family and I want them to do well forever,” she said. “I just hope that they keep that drive and stay hungry.”

Kempf has always considered her soccer teammates to be a second family, but it is her first family that has supported her from the start. She said that they came to almost every game during her collegiate soccer career. “It’s rare if they miss a game,” she said. “They will take off from work. They are my biggest support system.”

She comes from an athletic-oriented family as her older brother, Sean, wrestled at Cornell, and her sister, Stephanie, played lacrosse for Albany.

When she wasn’t playing soccer or studying, Kempf and her teammates spent time performing community service, including teaching the sport to children with Down syndrome.

She is undecided what career path she will take after graduation, saying she is keeping her options open. Kempf said she does want to find a way to keep playing soccer “just for fun,” but it hasn’t hit her yet that her collegiate career is over.

Her years on the field, she said, have taught her communication and leadership skills, and have given her confidence in all aspects of her life. “I think that’s something I’ll keep forever,” she said.