University of Cincinnati mourning death of 21-year-old soccer player Ally Sidloski

The University of Cincinnati is mourning the death of female soccer player Ally Sidloski, who died Saturday at age 21.

An Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesperson told ABC News Cincinnati affiliate WCPO that Sidloski drowned in East Fork Lake in Clermont County.

The spokesperson said Sidloski was hanging onto a swim platform on a boat before she went underwater without a lifejacket and did not come back up.

Her body was recovered at 1 a.m. Sunday, the spokesperson said.

The Ohio native had just completed her sophomore season with the Bearcats. She did not play in the 2020 season this spring because she was suffering from an injury, according to the school.

"I am absolutely crushed for the Sidloski Family, our soccer team and the University," the soccer team's head coach, Neil Stafford, said in a statement. "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."

Stafford also mourned Sidloski's death on Twitter. On Sunday night, he wrote: "Not only have we felt the darkness of tragedy but the Light of Love, Empathy & Compassion. I'm moved by the Grace & Strength of the Sidloski Family & the Resiliency of our @GoBEARCATS Family. Ally Sid was a beautiful extraordinary woman, the emotions of so many proved that today."

Sidloski was named a TopCat Scholar-Athlete in multiple semesters for achieving a 4.0 GPA.

"Our Bearcats family has suffered an extreme loss," the university's director of athletics, John Cunningham, said in a statement. "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."

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of @GoBearcatsWSOC student-athlete Ally Sidloski. Our thoughts are with the Sidloski family, the Bearcats soccer community, and all who knew Ally," Cincinnati Bearcats wrote on Twitter.

Sidloski redshirted her freshman year in 2018 and made her debut in 2019 against East Carolina. She played in the AAC tournament opening round against SMU and earned All-Academic AAC honors following the 2019 season.

She is survived by her parents, David and Tracie, and two sisters, Katie and Nicole.