ORONO – Aaron Zych makes his collegiate football debut Saturday as the starting place-kicker for the University of Maine when the Black Bears open their Atlantic 10 season at Rhode Island.

This has been an exciting but nerve-wracking week for the sophomore from Troy, N.Y., who has earned the starting nod despite having played only 11 games in his life, most recently in 1994.

“I’m really excited. I’ve been waiting for this since high school,” said Zych, who will handle field goals, extra points and kickoffs.

Zych’s challenge now is to prove himself under game conditions.

“Kicking is something I feel like we’ve really improved tremendously in a short period of time,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove. “We feel like we’ve got some kickers, it’s just whether they do it on Saturdays.”

Zych, in his third season at UMaine, came into preseason expecting to back up senior Chris Binder. When Binder left the team three days into preseason camp to deal with schizoaffective disorder, Zych reluctantly got his chance.

“I knew the job was mine not because I was kicking better, but because Chris left. I had to step it up,” Zych said.

Only three years ago, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound Zych (pronounced like “kick”) was a striker on the soccer team. Prior to his senior year at Catholic Central High School, some friends talked him into kicking a football instead.

“I still love soccer, but I just wanted a change,” Zych said.

Zych earned second-team, all-league honors after converting 39 of 42 PATs and hitting a career-long 42-yard field goal. He was still entertaining thoughts of playing Division III soccer that season when he was approached by a few college football recruiters.

After the season ended, Zych put together videotape highlights of himself kicking and sent them out, including one to Orono.

“They recruited me and they offered me some money,” Zych said. “I said, `wow!’ I didn’t expect it at all. I figured this was my chance to play Division I, so I took it.”

Zych’s enthusiasm for ’97 is tempered by Binder’s departure.

“I would gladly have been the second guy just so he could have his fifth year. He was doing so well,” Zych said. “I really respect him.”

Zych is trying to remain relaxed. He knows he can’t take anything for granted.

“I’m a little excited right now,” Zych said, ” ask me Saturday morning and I may have a different attitude. I try not to think about it too much, because if there’s too much time to think about it, bad things can come about.”

Zych didn’t lock up the UMaine kicking job until recently. After missing spring workouts with a bad case of mononucleosis, and had to beat out freshmen Todd Elwell and Todd Jagoutz.

“I’ve just been eager as hell to get on the field and kick the ball,” said Zych, who hopes to become known for his hands as well as his foot.

“I like to do sculptures, some paintings here and there, anything I can put my hands on to see what you could make out of it,” said Zych, who wants to work in museums.

He plans to major in history and art history.