The Kinn twins, Penn sophomores Austin and Tyler, have always done everything together.
Even today, they live together. They have a lot of the same friends.
And for a long time, they also had soccer.
LOOKBACK AT PENN SOCCER CLASSIC, 40 YEARS AGO
During one club tournament in Arizona, the connection between these brothers played out on the pitch.
“Tyler was playing great, made a few big saves to keep the game tied, and it eventually went to penalties,” Austin said. “Tyler ended up blocking three of their [penalty kicks].”
After a few seconds, Austin added, “And I actually scored the winner on our end.”
Of course he did. When one twin succeeded, the other did, too.
“Prior to their time [here], I could see they were two great kids,” Penn coach Rudy Fuller said. “They’re top-notch individuals in every way.”
They both got into Penn, but for once, they were forced to separate.
Austin was offered a spot on the team, but Fuller didn’t have room to offer one to Tyler, a goalkeeper.
“We told him that we’d bring him back out in the spring and see what he could do,” Fuller said.
Tyler trained with the team in the spring, but the situation hadn’t changed. With the successful recruitment of Max Kurtzman, undeniably a starter his freshman year, Fuller found himself with too many keepers yet again.
Fortune befell Tyler in the form of keeper Dan Thau, who decided to spend his senior year away from soccer.
“I picked up the phone right away and called Tyler,” Fuller said.
And so, the brothers were back together again.
The close-knit relationship between the twins helped Tyler find his place on the team.
“Tyler had still become friends with all the guys on the team, and that helped him to settle in,” Fuller said. “He didn’t feel as though he was under a microscope.”
When Kurtzman injured his shoulder in late October, Tyler seized the opportunity.
Thus far, he’s gone 1-1-0 in two starts, while posting a 0.99 goals against average. Earlier this week, he was named as the Philadelphia Soccer Six Co-Player of the Week.
Tyler will start his third game of the season for the Red and Blue (7-7-2, 2-4-0 Ivy) in their season finale Saturday night against Harvard (2-11-3, 0-5 Ivy) in Cambridge, Mass.
“Tyler was unknown to everybody outside of our program, but everyone inside of our program had seen him for the last couple of months,” Fuller said. “When Max went down, we didn’t blink an eye.”
Austin enjoys seeing Tyler receive his due.
“I’ve played with him for years, and I know how capable he is,” Austin said. “I think it’s awesome that now the rest of Penn knows, too.”
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