Kyle Symczak
Kyle Symczak
Title: Head Coach
Phone: (318) 869-5700
Email: ksymczak@centenary.edu

Kyle Symczak enters his fifth season as head coach of the Gents in 2021, fresh off a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title last season.

Symczak was named the 2020-21 SCAC Men's Soccer Coach of the Year as he guided the Gents to their first appearance in the SCAC Championship in nine years and just their second all-time appearance in the event. The Maroon and White claimed the tournament title on its home field after advancing in a penalty kick shootout over St. Thomas on April 25. He becomes the first Centenary head coach in the division III era (2012-present) to be named SCAC Coach of the Year.

Symczak, a native of Woodbridge, Va., served as the interim head coach of the program in 2016 after he was the Graduate Assistant Coach in both 2014 and 2015 and begins his eighth season with the program this fall.

Centenary finished the 2020-21 regular season 3-5-1 and 3-4 in conference play and earned the No. 6 seed in the SCAC Championship. The Gents, fueled by a supportive home crowd over three days, knocked off No. 3 seed Colorado College 2-1 in the quarterfinals and then played No. 2 Southwestern to a scoreless draw after two overtimes and then advanced, 5-3 on penalty kicks to clinch their first title game appearance in program history.

The Gents then faced No. 5 seed St. Thomas in the championship game and amazingly and almost unbelievably, the teams played to a scoreless tie after a pair of overtimes to send the match to a PK shootout. Centenary bested the Celts, 3-1, as sophomore MF Jaron Petreas scored the winner to send Mayo Field into delirium and give the Gents the long-awaited championship.

Centenary became the first No. 6 seed in SCAC Championship history to make the final and first to win it. The Gents were picked to finish eighth out of nine teams last season in the preseason coaches' poll and are the second program in SCAC Tournament history to win the title on home soil, as Trinity also accomplished the feat back in 2012. The last men's soccer title for the Gents came in 1990 as members of the NCAA Division I Trans America Athletic Conference (now the ASUN Conference). The Gents finished 4-1-3 at home last season and are 11-4-3 in their last 18 home matches at Mayo Field.

Sophomore MF Andres Bautista, junior D Diego Hernandez, and sophomore MF Jaron Petreas each earned All-SCAC honors for the first time in their careers. Bautista earned First Team honors, Petreas was named to the Second Team, and Hernandez earned Honorable Mention recognition. This marks the first time that three Centenary players have been named All-SCAC as the previous high was two accomplished in 2019, 2016, and 2012.

He had an impressive debut as interim head coach in 2016 as the seven wins and only 32 goals allowed for the Gents was the most wins and least goals allowed since the 2011 season. Gents goalkeeper Rylan Whan was a Second Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference selection as a goalie, while Nick Hammond earned Honorable Mention all-conference distinction.

Symczak guided the Gents to an 8-8 record in 2019 and a 3-6 mark in SCAC play. The Gents posted five shutouts during the season and went 7-3 at home. Centenary won the second-most games in a single season in the division III era and finished eighth in the SCAC standings, just missing a conference tournament berth. Wil Escobar, a sophomore midfielder from Cypress, Texas, was a First-Team All-SAC selection, marking the first time that a Centenary men's soccer player has been named first-team all-conference since 2007. Escobar led the team in goals (10) and points (20) and ranked second or tied for second in the conference in goals, goals per game, and game-winning goals.

Escobar and sophomore Sami Borchalli were named to the 2019 All-SCAC Men's Soccer Team as Escobar was named to the First Team while Borchalli, Centenary’s starting goalkeeper, earned Honorable Mention honors. The two selections were Centenary's first since the 2016 season and Escobar's honor marked the first time that a Gent has been named to the first team.

The Gents began the 2019 season a perfect 6-0 at home following a 2-0 victory over SCAC foe Colorado College in early October to improve to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play, The Maroon and White allowed only one goal in those six games, outscoring its five opponents, 14-1. Centenary recorded a five-game winning streak from Sept. 24 to Oct. 6, the program’s longest since the Gents won their final six matches of the 2011 season.

In his two seasons as the only assistant at Centenary, Symczak worked in all facets of the program. He was a vital part of the day-to-day operations such as team travel and workouts with individual players as well as with recruiting. Under his tutelage, Whan ranked in the top two in the SCAC and in the top-35 in the nation in saves per game in 2014 and 2015. Centenary’s save percentage during that same time period increased by more than 50 points. Whan went on to record the most saves in school history (404), finishing his 2016 season with 112 saves - which led the SCAC and was 39th in the country.

Symczak played a huge part in the recruitment of 17 newcomers for the 2016 season, including the addition of local athletes Hardy Hall and Christian Lindsey (Captain Shreve High School) as well as Gabe Rodriguez (Airline High School). 

Prior to joining the Gents soccer coaching staff, Symczak earned a degree in Business Administration from Lynchburg College in 2013 and was a four-year member of the Hornets men’s soccer team from 2008-2011, including serving as the captain his senior season. In his career, Symczak appeared in 88 games and had eight goals, including three game-winning goals, with four assists and 20 points. In 2010, he helped unranked Lynchburg reach the NCAA Division III title game as the Hornets lost a heartbreaker in overtime to #3 Messiah, 2-1.

Symczak earned a Master’s in education degree from Centenary in April 2017.