Space Coast United Alum Daniel Lynch excels at college level
Daniel Lynch, a Space Coast United alum who played with the organization from 2017-2019, is experiencing continued success at the collegiate level.
Following his graduation from Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in 2019, Lynch, a midfielder, signed to play soccer at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, IN. There, he made an impact right away as a freshman, totaling a combined 25 points as he was named to the All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference second-team following a year during which the Saints finished with a 12-5-2 record.
“Freshman year I got to play at Holy Cross which was an amazing experience. It was really helpful, being my first year away from home, having a really good environment playing and studying,” Lynch said.
Similar to the way the fabled University of Notre Dame football player Rudy Ruettiger did in the movie “Rudy,” Lynch has since transferred over to Notre Dame where he will be attempting to walk-on with the team in the fall.
Lynch, a rising junior, became a student at the school to begin his sophomore year.
Daniel Lynch will also follow in the footsteps of his brother Michael, who two years previous took a similar route to the school.
“He kind of like laid the path for me,” Lynch said. “He’s been really helpful and pretty much just showing me the path and is a really big role model for me not only in regards to soccer but also with schooling.”
Lynch praised SCU for helping his progression.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Lynch of his experience with the club. “It was very competitive and everyone was very helpful and wanted you to succeed which was very nice and I felt it was a good preparation for being at college. It helped me grow and helped me build leadership skills and being able to grow more as a soccer player and as a person.”
Lynch also helped SCU too, excelling as a forward while donning the red, black and white.
“His senior year….they (his club team) were champions of the State of Florida for U-19,” said Hugh Cousins, SCU’s recreational division director.
Scotty Armstrong, SCU’s executive director of coaching, praised Lynch’s ascent as a player.
“Danny is achieving the results and his dreams as he worked tirelessly with the best attitude and work ethic,” Armstrong said. “He never found excuses to miss practice, worked outside of practice and trained constantly. These key attributes detail the requirements to accomplish the goals Danny set. A great young man, congrats Danny.”
Cousins also noted that he saw impressive skills from Lynch while at SCU that undoubtedly has helped him during and after his time with the club that included high proficiency with both feet along with good height to be able to head the ball in the net.
“Danny’s such an all-around player,” Cousins said. “There’s not too many weaknesses in this game.”
Lynch also noted that playing at Holy Trinity and in an area with a lot of top talent in Brevard helped prepare him well.
“It was always pretty much every week you’d be a playing a good team so I was just fortunate enough to be in an area where there’s a lot of good players so you know that you’re always going to be tested and you’re always going to have to bring your best game but that was one of the benefits of living in this area,” Lynch said.
Lynch added that he would advise those who wished to follow in his footsteps to never give up and to “follow your dreams.”
“It’s easy to say ‘it’s not really worth it anymore’ but in the long run if it’s something you really want and you’re really willing to put the work in then it always works out in the end,” Lynch said.