Kiski Area goalkeeper Nick Smith commits to Duquesne soccer

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 | 9:32 PM

Nick Smith spent two years as Kiski Area’s starting goalkeeper, allowed to pick up the ball when teammates couldn’t, and he took his recruitment into his own hands as well.

Smith signed Tuesday with Duquesne’s men’s soccer team, calling it “an honor” to join a Division I program.

“It just means a lot,” said Smith, who also considered California (Pa.) and Pitt-Johnstown. “It shows that my four years in high school paid off, and everything I’ve done over the years has been worth it.”

Duquesne’s academics and campus also helped sell Smith, who plans to become a teacher and high school coach one day.

But he also sold Duquesne on him, reaching out to the Dukes’ coaches as part of the high school recruitment process. They attended several of his games, including perhaps the best of his high school career: a WPIAL Class AAA first-round game against Belle Vernon in which Smith stopped a barrage of shots over 80 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute overtime periods, leading Kiski Area to a 1-0 shootout victory.

Smith was named all-section and was a first-team Valley News Dispatch All-Star.

“I think in my two years, I really showed what I was able to do,” Smith said. “A lot of schools were kind of on the edge of whether or not to start communication, but I reached out to them and they liked what they saw. … It all worked out, so I’m thankful for that.”

Tags: Kiski School