Great game out in Norfolk today. Very physical. ODU got up early in the second half on a break-away then crowded the box on D. I must admit that I'm not a gung-ho soccer fan, but I've been a modest fan for about 10 years, checking out the A-League Va. Beach Mariners a few times down here. Here's the game wrap for the ODU-Wake game. http://odusports.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/092103aaa.html Question to all: What National Rankings are the most respected? SoccerAmerica? NSCAA? Just wondering since soccer fever is catching around our Norfolk campus.
Go ODU. Class of 95 graduate here. Its nice to see ODU has a good team again. There were some lean years for awhile there.
Boy, I think its safe to say that ODU is for real this year now. Everybody knew they had some good players, but they really came in under the radar didn't they? I mean, top 5? I'd be interested to get an in-person review of 6-2 Junior defender Trevor McEachron. He must be a rapidly rising force in MLS scouting circles, given yet another shutout of a quality program (having already shut out Cal, Stanford and American). Does anyone know his citizenship status (he played for the Jamaican U-23's, but appears to have lived in the DC area for some time). Soon they go into the CAA schedule, where they look to be pretty dominant. Not inconceivable that they could get to the NCAA's undefeated and ranked in the top 3.
I'd also like a scouting report on this guy. He certainly sounds like an intriguing prospect and he has the size MLS loves in its backs. The CAA is better than people realize. Besides ODU, William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth either got first round byes or advanced to the second round of the NCAAs last year. And, George Mason and James Madison, while not as good as they were in the early and mid 90s, are also good. As good as ODU is, they could just as easily lose all four of these games. I don't think they will, but they could.
Trevor... He's as solid as they come defensively. Like I said I'm a closet soccer fan (with my real sport being wrestling-- not the fake stuff, but the real stuff) so I've seen some solid players in my day. Trevor's been doing a solid job keeping Sam Cameron ahead of the game, denying several opportunites before they even get to Sam. Sam gets a lot of the credit for the six consecutive shutouts, but the solid defense, led by Trevor's great play, has been the catalyst for this season. After seeing todays rankings, No. 4 in the country is really lofty and almost scary if you think about it. The only programs ODU has had crack the top 10 in the past few years have been women's basketball and field hockey. Gotta give Alan Dawson some credit, recruiting some good talent to this campus, which is geographically in a nice soccer spot to start with. Maybe this year folks will take notice of little ol' ODU for something other than our women's sports. BTW, A. Vendegh is my neighbor... so I get a chance to talk soccer more than on this messageboard. Great core of guys, really tight-knit this group is, but I don't want to jinx it, since I'm doing everything I can from a student newspaper standpoint to get our students to notice the program. Last year was the building block, this year is the one that will put us on the map.... It's great talking with some of you, who are obviously more knowledgable about the game than I. Sorry for the rambling, but I'm putting off writing this paper. JB
I wasn't intending to besmirch the CAA, which is a league that I enjoy a lot. I was thinking that W&M and JMU seem down this year from their usual level. That combined with the fact that ODU hasn't allowed a goal in six games made me think they could run the table. But I admit I forgot about VCU somehow. You're right, it would be tough for the Monarchs to not drop any of those games. Still, they look the class of the league (VCU is not quite what they were projected to be, but they have played a very tough schedule), and could easily still be a high seed by the time we get to the tournament.
I've seen Trevor play quite a bit. He is a legit MLS prospect. Good size , good in the air, strong, athletic and durable. I have to disagree with Terpfan, Trevor has great speed and quickness.
Trevor played with the Cadragons pdl. Terpfan must have seen Trevor play in a very rare off day, if he ever has one. I watched him many times track down some of the fastest strikers in the pdl league. Nope, this guy is legit, just to bad nobody takes notice of players that don't play in the top ten team Div. 1 teams around this site. Guess nobody goes to the games, just reads the top ten ranking reports.