University of Cincinnati women’s soccer player drowns at East Fork State Park

CINCINNATI — A University of Cincinnati Women’s Soccer player drowned in East Fork Lake Saturday.

Allyson Sidloski, 21, was a member of UC’s Women’s Soccer team and had just finished her sophomore year, reported our news partners at WCPO-TV.

Sidloski, a Strongsville, Ohio native, was hanging onto the swim platform of a boat at East Fork Lake before she went underwater Saturday evening, and she was not wearing a life jacket, stated an ODNR official.

“I am absolutely crushed for the Sidloski family, our soccer team and the University,” said Neil Stafford, soccer head coach at UC, in a press release.

“There’s no words for dealing with a tragedy on this scale. Ally was such a pillar of everything that’s right about our program. A great student, gritty and resilient player and a phenomenal human being – this is an immeasurable and unspeakable loss. Our hearts go out to her family and friends and we will lift them up with our fond memories of Ally.”

Sidloski was the third member of her family to play soccer at the collegiate level, following her father and sister.

“Our Bearcats family has suffered an extreme loss,” said John Cunningham, director of athletics at UC.

“We send all our prayers, love and support to the Sidloski family and will do everything we can to support them and our student-athletes as we all process and work through this tragedy. Please respect the privacy of the Sidloski’s and members of our soccer team as they grieve the loss of their daughter, sister, teammate and friend.”

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