KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The 2023 season came to an end last week for Kalamazoo College. The Hornets fell in the regular season finale to Trine, but the final PAT is the play of that game will be talked about for years to come because it made NCAA history.
“I went home and was like ‘Mom, Dad, I want to play football,” said Madison Barch.
After being a life long soccer player, Madison Barch became the kicker of her 7th grade team. She kicked all throughout high school and then was recruited by K College her senior year. Head Coach Jamie Zorbo made sure that his program was ready to bring in the first woman ever to their team.
“He had a plan for having a female on the team. He wasn’t going to exclude me from anything. I’ve always said I just wanted to be like one of the guys. I don’t want special treatment or anything like that. He said ‘you’ll be in this locker room over here. They’re exactly the same. Other than changing that’s the only time you’ll be a part from the team. And he was not wrong,” said Barch.
“She didn’t want any special treatment. She wanted to be like one of the guys and she wanted to prove herself,” said Jamie Zorbo.
On September 4th 2021, Maddy became the first woman score a point for the Hornets but her time making history didn’t end there.
In her last game ever at K College, Maddy prepped for a PAT. But after a bad snap, holder Josh Nichols called fire, stood up, and was ready to pass to any one who was open.
Maddy ended up being in the end zone, not a defender in sight, to make the 2 point conversion catch.
“I saw that ball coming at me. I couldn’t hear any of the crowd. I couldn’t feel my body, I just remember seeing that ball coming at me and thinking ‘Madison, of all times to catch a ball, this is the time to do it,” said Barch.
“I saw him look to Maddy and she was wide open and I was like ’throw it, throw it to her’. That ball was in the air forever and I was praying that she could catch it she did an amazing job,” said Zorbo.
It’s believe that Maddy scored the first ever non-kicking points at the division three level. While her name very well will be the record books forever, it was just another game for her.
“I don’t really look to all the accolades and stuff. I just love playing and going what I do. It was just a cool way to go out,” said Madison.
That was the final play of Madison’s career at Kalamazoo. She finished her 4 years making 85% of her point after attempts and she has a message for any young girl who is looking to take their kicking game to the college level.
“Definitely if you work at it and give it enough time and effort, you can really do it. It was a lot of hours in the gym, on the field. A lot of them alone. Kinda like a therapy session I guess and just working at it. You can do it if you work for it,” said Madison.
Madison will graduate in 2024 and looks to pursue a career in forensic investigation with the Michigan State Police.
