Senior business major Andrew Ciancone finds himself at the end of his collegiate soccer career at the University of Dallas. His time with the men’s soccer team during the past four years was not without its moments, however.
“The best moments over my four years were singing on the bus and hanging out in the hotels when we were on the road,” Ciancone said. “I also really enjoyed beating Trinity three times and making a run to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference finals last year.”
While with the UD men’s soccer team, Ciancone played in every match over the last four seasons, as well as playing in 18 matches in 2015, 19 in 2016 and 2017, and 16 in 2018. He scored two goals in 2015 and 2016, four goals in 2017 and three goals in 2018.
“Both my older siblings played soccer, so that really got me into it,” Ciancone said. “I think they started playing because my family is really Italian, and soccer is the main sport in Italy.”
Ciancone accumulated a number of awards over his four years at UD, including being named to the SCAC All-Tournament Team in 2017, All-SCAC Second Team in 2017 and 2018, United States College Athletic Association (USCAA) All-Academic Team in 2017 and 2018, the USCAA Player of the Week on Oct. 9, 2018, and the SCAC Offensive Player of the Week in week 8 of 2017. Ciancone begins preparing for the season before it even starts.
“I run a lot over the summer and play soccer whenever I can, so a lot of training goes on before the season, because if I don’t, then it’s hard to get into shape in a hurry,” Ciancone said.
While Ciancone was outside playing soccer for UD, he also participated in track and field as a freshman. During his track season, Ciancone ran himself into the UD record book as a member of the record setting 4×400 meter and 4×800 meter relay teams and earning a bronze medal in the 4×400 meter relay at the USCAA Championships. Through all of his athletic endeavors, Ciancone has had to find a way to balance sports with his studies, a goal many student-athletes struggle to accomplish.
“It is extremely difficult at UD to manage sports and academics because most professors, especially with the Core, don’t give many exceptions, even though we do a lot of traveling, and it’s hard to do work on the road,” Ciancone said.
Head Coach David Hoffmann, in his 16th year at UD, has helped Ciancone and others excel on the field.
“It’s nice to have stability at coach for all four years, because I understand what he expects, and we have had the same system for all four years,” Ciancone said.
While his collegiate soccer career at UD may be over, Ciancone’s love for soccer certainly won’t diminish.
