Most soccer players transitioning into football encounter challenges adjusting to the physicality of the sport, but not UW’s star first-year kicker, Evan Astolfo. Whether you’ve paid any attention to the team this year, you’ve likely heard of the rookie’s tremendous inaugural season. During a game against the Toronto Varsity Blues, the Burlington native set the OUA record for the longest field goal to tie up the match. A clip of the kick garnered so much attention on social media that Sean Whyte, kicker for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, reached out to Astolfo after seeing it. It was Astolfo’s second game in university, taking place on Aug. 3o, five days before his first day of class. He then followed it with another one through the uprights during overtime to win.
The kick established him early on in his OUA career; the victory ended a 10-game losing streak for UW that began in 2023 with a loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks down the road.
Astolfo remains grounded despite his success.
“[I’m] proud of myself, but I try to stay humble. I’m still working to get better and see how far I can go.”
Born in 2007, Astolfo was around sports from a young age. His monstrous boot began to develop when he started playing soccer at the age of three, where he “showed promise, and played academy soccer right up until [the end of high school] when he started to focus on football,” according to his mother, Rebecca Astolfo. “My husband and I feel like sports are good in many ways… and we’ve seen him mature a lot and keep better control of himself since he started playing football.”
A multi-sport athlete, Astolfo in the ninth grade at Corpus Christi Catholic Secondary School, when he joined the football team “to have fun with [his] buddies.” His experience in soccer gave him an advantage when the coaches were looking for a kicker, and he easily “went up and earned [himself] the starting spot.”
What he didn’t know at the time was that he was joining a community, not just a team, and that community built a strong culture of victory.
“There were lots of coaches and volunteer dads that were just amazing… they formed this bond with [the players], and they were so passionate about the team,” Rebecca recalls.
In his first season, 2021-22, the team went 3-2, then steamrolled its way to the Halton Catholic Athletic Association (HCAA) championship. Astolfo foreshadowed his kick against Toronto that season when he kicked a record-setting 42-yard field goal in one of his first games of organized football. He remained consistent throughout the season, scoring the game-winning kick in a semi-final matchup against the St. Francis Xavier Knights.
In his last two years on the team, they competed in the provincial championship, falling short in his Grade 11 year and winning the entire tournament in Grade 12.
News of Astolfo’s success at university has also travelled back to Burlington. During his first visit back home since leaving, he says, “a bunch of the coaches from [Grade 12] came out and they were all congratulating me, which was nice. It motivates me to do better and go further.”
“Our program builds strong players,” says close friend and long-time teammate Knox Lajoie, who played with Astolfo during high school. “Players would come from all over just to play for our team. Evan and I won the HCAA championship every year we played.”
Lajoie will be joining the Warriors’ football squad next year as a linebacker and will be studying aviation.
“I came for the academics, and seeing Evan, he helped me realize [UW] is also a good program [for football],” he says.
Academics are important for Astolfo, too. He had already been accepted into UW for planning when he received his offer to play on the football team. His success in the OUA hasn’t hindered his studies either. His coaches and fellow players put a “really high priority” on practicing good time management and specifically credits coach and academic support coordinator Marshall Bingeman for his help throughout the season.
“At the start of the year, he made us write out all our dates and everything of each reading we have, each assignment we have, all these dates and stuff, so we can really manage our time . . . then he got me a tutor for my exam this semester. It’s been a big help,” Astolfo says. “I make sure to get [academic work] done in the morning, then go to the gym in the evening, or the other way around. That way I’m always on top of everything.”
Though his transition from high school into post-secondary studies came easily, his transition into the OUA came with a few bumps. In his first game of university football against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, he went 3-6 in field goal completions, and the Warriors swallowed a tough 12-27 loss.
“I didn’t know if this was for me,” Astolfo said. “I worried, ‘What if this is what the rest of my season looks like?’”
His mother recalls, “he called me at the start of training camp, he was still 17 at the time, and he said, ‘Mom, I don’t know if this is for me’, and it was hard.”
It was here that his talent would no longer be enough — he’d have to work to earn his spot on the team. Thankfully for Astolfo, that’s something he was used to.
“He’s an extremely hard worker,” Lajoie says. “We would have three-hour practices, he’d show up early and still kick the entire time. In the off-season, we’d go to the field, and he’d just kick the entire time. I’d pass him a few balls, and he’d help me with my stuff, too. He’s a great teammate.”
He rapidly improved from that point on. He scored 14 points against the Blues, completing four of six field goal attempts. He had a four-game stretch where he attempted seven field goals and completed six, culminating in a clutch game against the York Lions that brought the Warriors their second win of the season. He scored fourteen points and completed all of his field goals. His performance was marked by an onside kick recovery late in the fourth quarter, which started the drive that would lead the Warriors to victory.
“He’s really bright,” says Ty Kostyniuk, first-year linebacker for the Warriors. “For someone who’s always in high-pressure situations, he keeps such a level head. He’s one of those guys who always uplifts people, just great to be around.”
Astolfo finished the season with a padded resume: he was named to the OUA all-rookie team, recognized as a UW athlete of the week twice and OUA athlete of the week once, he scored 61 points while completing 65 per cent of his field goal attempts and all of his extra point attempts, and finished fourth in field goals made with 17.
“He’s done a complete 180 from the start of the season, and he’s loving it,” his mother says.
Now in the offseason, he isn’t slowing down at all. He wants to make the most out of his time at UW, uninterested in “switching to a different football program,” instead training his punting and going to the gym nearly daily to improve his performance for UW.
“I’m a long snapper and [Astolfo]’s a kicker, so we train together, it’s sort of a natural connection. We really push each other to be better,” Kostyniuk says.
Expectations are high for Astolfo, but nobody has higher expectations for him than himself. He’s aiming for “potentially D1, CFL, or even an NFL contract if [he] can.”
He’s aware he isn’t a perfect player, but what separates him is his willingness and dedication to working on his flaws.
“Sometimes I get distracted when the other team taunts me. My punting isn’t very good. Every field goal I missed, the other team was taunting me, and I want to get as close to 100 per cent [completion rate] as possible,” he says.
Outside of football, he plays the guitar and finds time for his first love, soccer.
“Soccer’s definitely my number two sport. I taught myself the guitar; it helps me with stress and stuff. I like playing video games, I’ll hang out with my buddies,” he says. “I just make sure to stay on top of all my work before anything else.”
There are still eight months until the football season is back in action. Though many players might taper down and relax, UW’s star kicker is hard at work. Sports fans should keep a close eye on the rising star.
“I plan to do my best and hope God takes me the rest of the way,” Astolfo says.
