Trio of Union Academy grads contributing to unbeaten college campaigns

Philadelphia Union Academy grads Justin McMaster, Joey DeZart and Kalil ElMedkhar have been key contributors to two of division 1 college soccer’s last remaining unbeaten teams.

McMaster, a sophomore from Jamaica, has contributed four goals and three assists in eight matches for Wake Forest, one of only two teams left with a perfect record while junior midfielder DeZart has played in all 10 games for the Demon Deacons, which improved to 10-0-0 with a 4-2 win over Duke over the weekend.

Kalil ElMedkhar, a sophomore from Middletown, Del., has been a key contributor for the unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats with four goals and three assists. He had a goal and an assist on the game-winner in their 2-1 win over South Carolina on Saturday night. The Reading United forward is second on the team in scoring to JJ Williams, who spent the summer of 2017 in Reading. Williams has seven goals and a pair of assists.

At 8-0-1, Kentucky is one of eight unbeaten teams left in Division 1.

But they’ll face their toughest test of the season yet on Wednesday when they host Indiana. The Hoosiers have won nine straight after falling to Wake Forest in overtime in their season opener back in August.

Among the other unbeatens is the University of Denver, coached by Medford, N.J. native Jamie Franks. Franks led the Pioneers to unbeaten regular season campaigns before losing in the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016.

In other news about college players with ties to the greater Philadelphia area:

-Freeman Dwamena (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Cal Poly edged UC Santa Barbara 1-0 in front of 11,075 fans on Sunday night in San Luis Obispo, California. Fellow Philadelphia Union Academy alum Emmanuel Perez, who has two goals and a pair of assists this season, did not play. The crowd was cited as the 14th largest regular season attendance figure in NCAA history.

-Former Continental FC midfielder Kevin Smolyn (Holland, Pa.) scored his second goal of the season in Saint Francis PA’s 4-2 win over Sacred Heart.

-Penn Fusion alum Sam Brown (Media, Pa.) scored his second of the season in Loyola Maryland’s 4-1 win over Navy.

-Union Academy grad Dawson McCartney (Voorhees, N.J.) scored his first of the season in Dartmouth’s 2-2 draw with Princeton.

-Former Union Academy and Episcopal Academy goalkeeper Matt Freese (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) made three saves in a 1-0 win over Yale for his first clean sheet of the season in his fifth start.

-Penn Fusion alum Aiden McFadden (West Chester, Pa.) scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win for Notre Dame over Boston College. The goal was the third of the season for the sophomore.

-Lehigh forward Mark Forrest (Douglassville, Pa.) was named Patriot League offensive player of the week after scoring a pair of goals and dishing two assists in an overtime loss to Cornell and a 2-1 road win over Boston University.