KINGS POINT, N.Y., September 1, 2022 – Earlier today, women at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point reached another important milestone when the Women’s Soccer Team played its first-ever game on Bartoszek Field against Five Towns College.

USMMA Director of Physical Education & Athletics, Kristofer Schnatz said, “it is always exciting when an athletic program adds a new team. However, a new women’s soccer team at a USMMA is especially exciting. Women have been making history at Kings Point for close to fifty years and today our Women’s Soccer Team became part of that legacy.”

USMMA was the first Federal service academy to admit women in 1974, with the first graduating from Kings Point in 1978. Women’s Soccer is the nineteenth National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III sport to be offered at USMMA.

The USMMA team is coached by former professional soccer player and coach Carlos Mendes who played seven seasons for the New York Red Bulls. This is the collegiate head coaching debut for Mendes.

Adding to the excitement, the game ended with a 7-0 win for the Mariners.

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The United States Merchant Marine Academy, located in Kings Point, N.Y., educates and graduates leaders of exemplary character who are inspired to serve the national security, marine transportation, and economic needs of the United States as licensed Merchant Marine Officers and commissioned officers in the Armed Forces. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Academy, which was established under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1943. It is administered by the Maritime Administration under the auspices of the Department of Transportation.