SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
BY DAN STICKRADT
DIRECTOR OF NEWS
BUSINESS LINE: (248) 525-2349
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @MiSoccerNetwork
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Kayla Shuk gave swimming a try one summer.
Remember the word try.
She gave it up competitively when she was around 10. That experiment last less than a year.
Soccer is her first love and it still is today.
“I gave it a try, but wasn’t very good at it,” recalled Shuk of her time in the pool. “I love soccer and it has been my favorite sport ever since I can remember.”
Shuk grew up not just in an athletic and sports-crazed household just like so many other families in the country – Shuk grew up in a soccer family.
Her dad, Jeff Shuk, has been a head or assistant coach in club, amateur, college and high school soccer for close to 30 years. Her brother Zach was a standout growing up and still plays amateur soccer in the spring and summer for Livonia City FC. Even her mom Linda played soccer for a while.
You talk about all in the family.
A taller, agile, and athletic 5-foot-11, Shuk picked up goalie at an early age and has excelled in recent years both on the college pitch and on the summer amateur circuit.
Shuk, who resides in the Farmington Hills area and is a junior-to-be at Aquinas College, a small NAIA school on the east side of Grand Rapids, has played really well during the collegiate season. She also stared on her Midwest Women’s Super League and Women’s Premier Super League side Corktown WFC, where she had a memorable summer in 2024.
Shuk earned the Midwest Women’s Super League Golden Glove for posting a 0.00 goals-against-average and a 1.000 save percentage. That’s right, she never allowed a goal during her time between the pipes. Shuk did split time with two other goalies this summer, logging 685 minutes for a team that finished 7-1-0. She had four complete game shutouts.
“That’s an honor, no matter what league it is. But there’s also 10 other players on the field helping you keep the ball out of the net. It’s not just me,” offered Shuk. “But I felt like it was a good summer for us.”
Corktown WFC captured the Midwest Women’s Super League title for the second straight summer on the strength of a seven-game win streak. Shuk was near-brilliant in MWSL play.
In the WPSL, Shuk only played in one third of the time in goal for a team that finished in fourth place in the Great Lake Conference of the WPSL, which boasts 142 teams in the U.S. and has been around since 1998. This was Corktown WFC’s first year in that mega league.
Still, Shuk was technically still one of the better keepers in that league as well when she was on the pitch.
“The competition was really strong in that league. We had a lot of close games,” said Shuk. “I didn’t play all of the time. We had other goalies. But I was kind of like a coach on the bench when I didn’t play.”
Shuk graduated from North Farmington High School in 2022, as she enjoyed a career that featured the Covid-lockdowns and season cancellation but also earned All-League and All-District a couple of times in high school.
With great size and hands, Shuk went the NAIA route after graduating from high school and she has enjoyed one fine career thus far for the Saints. She was originally recruited by and signed by Lewis Robinson, who later became the head coach at NCAA Division I Western Michigan University. James DeCosemo took over the Aquinas program and Shuk has more than shined.
“I wanted to be able to play right away, which is why I opted to play at a small college,” recalled Shuk. “If I went D-I, I’d be just another goalie just waiting for an opportunity. Here, I get to play most of the minutes.”
The numbers don’t lie. Shuk’s individual stats and her team stats as well have been most impressive.
Shuk has led the Aquinas to the NAIA Elite Eight in both 2022 and 2023 and raked in some awards in the process. Shuk and her teammates also won the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (33 points) crown in 2022 at 11-0-0 and tied for first in 2023 with Siena Heights at 9-0-2 (29 points).
During her freshman campaign in 2022, Shuk posted a 16-2-1 record in net, making 23 appearances, logging 2,000 minutes, allowing 13 goals and making 40 saves. She also faced 53 shots on frame, posted a 0.59 goals-against-average, a .755 save percentage and recorded 13 clean sheets.
In 2023, Shuk shined again by posting a 17-1-3 record, making 21 appearances, logging 1,865 minutes, allowing eight goals and recording 49 saves. She faced 57 total shots, posted a 0.39 goals-against-average, a .860 save percentage and 14 more shutouts.
Shuk is a two-time Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference First Team honoree, while she made All-America Second Team in 2022 and All-America First Team in 2023, joining teammate Avery Tack on the All-America First Team squad.
This week, Aquinas College will reconvene with training camp for the 2024 season. Shuk and the Saints would love nothing more to repeat in the WHAC and WHAC Postseason Tournament and make another deep run in the NAIA.
“We would love to take another step and get to the final Four and try to win it all,” beamed Shuk. “We were close the least two years. We should have another strong team and we are setting a=our goals really high.”
Setting high goals and keeping goals from happening on the pitch. That’s Kayla Shuk’s way.
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremeiermediagrp.com.)
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