Steven Kinney

Youth and college

Kinney helped his club team, '88 Concorde Fire Elite, to three Region III Premier League titles, a 2005 Disney Showcase title, and a USYSA Regional finals appearance in 2006. As a two-time captain for his Norcross (GA) High School varsity squad, Kinney led the team to a 7AAAAA region title. He was named all-county, as both a player and scholar-athlete in 2005 and 2006, and he was selected as his team's offensive player of the year in 2005. After a notable prep career, Kinney now looked to take his game to the next level. He committed to play for coach Darren Powell at Elon University. Kinney made an impact right away as a defender for the Elon Phoenix, starting in all 20 matches of his freshman campaign. He scored the first goal of his career in the season-opener against Stetson, and also notched the game-winning goal against Charlotte. He was honored as the team's top newcomer for 2006. As a sophomore tri-captain for the Phoenix, Kinney again started every match. He scored just once, but it was the game-winner against High Point. He was named first-team All-Southern Conference, as well as second-team NSCAA All-South and NCCSIA All-State honors. Kinney also earned team MVP for his efforts on the backline. In 2008, as a junior, Kinney tri-captained the Phoenix to a 7-0-0 record in conference play, and its first SoCon regular season title. Starting every match, once again, his lone goal came in a losing effort against William & Mary. Kinney's stellar…