Courtesy of Brian Beard

When it comes to the soccer field, Tyler Huck ’26 will not be caught picking daisies. Huck was born in London and raised amidst the city’s fervor for the sport. He donned his first jersey for a local team around age five.

When he moved to California at age eleven, soccer remained his focus sport, playing for competitive clubs in the area. From there, it didn’t take long for him to set his heart on collegiate soccer. At Bowdoin, Huck brings a gametime attentiveness that matches soccer’s stakes and intensity.

“I love that [soccer is] low scoring, because the little moments in the game can mean everything.” Huck said. “Scoring a goal can mean just getting one thing right, and that can be enough to win you a game. So I’ve always loved how focused you have to be on all of those little moments. Because if you are slacking in one moment, your team can be down one-nil, and that can be your season.”

During his first year as a Polar Bear, Huck capitalized on those little moments, ultimately earning NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Now, this year’s NESCAC Player of the Year, Huck emphasizes that his individual achievements are predicated on his team’s collective success.

“I love being around a team who’s just as dedicated as I am,” Huck said. “Especially when you’re in season, it really just feels like everyone’s in it together and devoting a large part of their lives to the team’s success. That creates a ton of camaraderie and just a really positive experience for everyone.”

Now that he is navigating the mentorship role that comes with seniority, Huck draws upon his first-year experience, when he was eased into the challenge of collegiate gameplay by more experienced players.

“I’ve had amazing captains who have shown me what it takes to be a good leader and inspire younger people on the team,” Huck said. Those are lessons I’ve tried to incorporate, especially this year being a senior.”

The men’s soccer team currently holds a winning 12–3–3 record, and Huck leads the team in goals (13) and assists (8). Huck believes that this year, the team’s perseverance has played a central role in its success.

“[We] focus on a couple things. One of them is just being super tough. I think we want to be tough to play. We want to be tough to score on,” Huck said. “And I think a mentality of defending as a team first and focusing on that is really what gave us a ton of success, especially in the middle half of our season when we went seven or eight games without conceding a goal.”

Last weekend, the Polar Bears defeated the University of Massachusetts Boston (13–4–4)  3–2. Huck brought home two goals, one of which was off a penalty kick early in the first half. The Polar Bears had conceded a goal just minutes before, putting pressure on the team to even out the scoresheet. Walking up to the penalty spot, Huck felt assured that his team and years of experience would help him find the back of the net.

“I feel so confident that everyone in the team is behind me [when I’m taking penalty kicks],” Huck said. “I’ve been playing soccer a long time now, and I’ve practiced so much to the point where when I step up in that moment in the game, it just feels like I’ve done it thousands of times.”

Looking forward, the Polar Bears will face Connecticut College (12–3–5; 4–2–4 NESCAC) (Conn.) tomorrow at Tufts University in the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Huck has his sights set on the trophy.

“We’re all looking at the national championship as the goal,” Huck said. “It’s hard early in the season to have goals like that, but at this point, we’re four games away. And obviously [Conn.] is a familiar foe, and they’re someone we tied in the regular season, [but] we’re all confident that we can take care of business in that game and then start looking to the next ones. This group feels like we can beat anyone if we’re playing our best, and we only need to beat four more teams to do it all.”