Self-admittedly, men's lacrosse goalie A.J. Kincel is "boring," an "old fogey," a player "who isn't that athletic" and a veteran "who ran out of things to teach the freshmen after the first day of practice."
And although he paints a picture of an average old man between the pipes, don't let him fool you--the guy can play.
A year after leading the Blue Devils to the brink of the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, Kincel is back, ready to take his less-than-thrilling style of play and his ability to keep his head under pressure as far as he and his team can go with them.
"I'm not the flashiest of goalies," the Charlottesville, Va., native said. "In high school I was a little [flashy], and I tried it the first day of practice freshmen year, but afterwards Coach took me aside and suggested I stop that.
"I try to be consistent, I try to be even-keeled," Kincel continued. "You're going to let in a couple of goals and you're going to make some good saves, but everyone looks to you to see how the team is doing, and you have to keep your cool because of that... I'm pretty boring to be honest. My main talent which makes me successful is that I try to bring it every day and be consistent."
That every day consistency has brought Kincel and his teammates a lot of success. Among other preseason honors, he was named to the Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook Preseason All America Team two weeks ago.
Kincel's ride to the top, however, has been an unusual one.
After graduating from The Saint Anne's-Bellfield School, where he was a two-sport star in soccer and lacrosse, he broke his thumb midway through his freshman season and decided to take a medical redshirt year, retaining his year of eligibility. Once he regained his health, the psychology major and religion minor remained on the sidelines for the next two years as the backup for Matt Breslin, where he "tried to be a sponge and soak up all that he could" from the veteran netminder. Kincel finally got his opportunity to play his senior year and made the most of it, posting a 59 percent goals-against average and allowing 8.5 goals a game.
Kincel hadn't originally planned on returning for a fifth year--a commonplace practice in football and basketball but a rarity in non-revenue sports--but when head coach Mike Pressler made the offer to him midseason last spring, Kincel took it, adjusting his workload for a spring 2003 graduation. He also took the fall off, where he remained in Durham to work.
"Having A.J. back on this team, for all of us, is a blessing," Pressler said. "As good as a player as he is, he's a better man. And that's the thing I love about him. He's so humble. All he cares about is his teammates. All he cares about is winning. He's got unfinished business. I don't think we've had a senior here who had a better year in the goal than No. 31. A.J's the best athlete we've ever had in the goal. We've had some great ones in the past, but athletically, he could play any position out there."
Kincel's return to the Blue Devils for a fifth year might prove to be a blessing, indeed. The last time it happened, in 1997 with two fifth-year players, Duke went to its last and only Final Four appearance.
Kincel's fondest memory is the ACC tournament last spring, where Duke won its second consecutive conference championship. He refers fondly to Duke's upset of top-ranked Virginia in the tournament final after the Blue Devils downed Maryland in an overtime game that ended at one in the morning after a Friday night start.
Meanwhile, as Kincel and his teammates prepare for the upcoming season, he unsurprisingly prefers to talk about his teammates and the team instead of himself.
"We have a special group of guys who have great chemistry," he said. "We are just trying to uphold the tradition here. We have some freshmen who are going to see some time, and some upperclassmen who are going to be the vocal leadership of the team.... I would love playing in [the site of this year's Final Four] Ravens Stadium come Memorial Day.
"I just want to be remembered as the kid who came from a small high school and who had to work his way up. I don't have the most natural talent, but I've been fortunate to play with some amazing teams and great defenses. I hope that this year we will live up to goals we've set for ourselves."
No matter what he or his teammates accomplish this year, one thing is for certain: Kincel will not be bragging any time soon.
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