By Bob Ettinger...
It’s repeated over and over and over again. Defense wins championships. Though the Geneva boys didn’t win a Premier Athletic Conference championship, they were fighting for one on the final day of the regular season.
And a big reason for that was defense.
“We knew that if we didn’t give up a goal, there was no chance we’d lose the game,” O’Dell said. “If we didn’t give up a goal, we always had a chance to win.”
The Eagles recorded 11 shutouts in compiling a 12-2-3 (4-1-2 in PAC) record under coach Brian O’Dell. They were also 5-0 against Ashtabula County teams, garnering O’Dell Star Beacon Ashtabula County Coach of the Year honors.
A 3-1 loss to University School in the final match of the regular season prevented the Eagles from claiming the PAC championship in their first year in the league.
However, the season got off to a suspect start for O’Dell and his team.
“At camp this summer, we were destroyed in every game,” O’Dell said. “We didn’t know what to do. We started monkeying with positions. Some players took roles. The seven seniors stepped up into a leadership role.
“Sean Dunlap was a scorer and moved to sweeper, even though he would’ve loved to have moved up. He chose that role. I let Zach Kubec and Tyler Carlisle run the middle. Kevin Lozano took a role setting up Jeff (Swanson) or anybody else that could score. Jacob Miller and Kyle Miller stepped up big on the outside.
“All of them accepted roles. They weren’t selfish and bought in. The first couple of matches they realized we could be good. They became more and more confident.”
Despite having to find players willing to switch positions, there were at least a few positions O’Dell knew the Eagles were just fine with the status quo.
Namely, the Eagles were set at goalkeeper, where O’Dell’s son, Kyle, has played for all or part of the last four seasons; forward, where Swanson proved to be a scoring menace from just about anywhere on the field; and midfield, where Kubec and Carlisle controlled the flow of action.
Kyle O’Dell had 117 saves on the year and allowed just 11 goals for a 10.6 saves per match average on the season. Surprisingly, two of those 11 goals were scored by his Eagle teammates. Take those two scores out of the equation and he made 13 saves for every goal he allowed. He did not allow a single goal against the Eagles’ five county opponents and was named Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year.
However, every player made some kind of impact for the Eagles.
“Almost every kid on the team scored a goal or made a difference in a game this year,” Brian O’Dell said. “Jeff scored the most goals, but almost everybody on the team scored a goal or had something to do with a goal being scored.
“Jake McMahan had some throw-ins that changed games. He had maybe four assists on long throws. They bought into their roles and stuck with them. They did their best within their roles and nothing more. They played as a team.
“Their success was nothing I did. The guys just bought in. They didn’t do more than they were supposed to and played hard.”
Ettinger is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at bettinger@starbeacon.com.
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BRIAN O'DELL of Geneva is the 2009 Star Beacon Ashtabula County Boys Soccer Coach of the Year. WARREN DILLAWAY
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BOB ETTINGER
Discussion
Vice squad
Brian O'Dell's coaching phiosophy is simple — put the clamps on the opposition
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