Boys Soccer Program Thriving

The Week That Was - Sports Blog by Tommy Orndorff

Some of the more popular blogs through the years have been Q&A sit-downs with our coaches. That noted, this week's The Week That Was continues that recent trend with a Q&A session with boys soccer head coach Chris Jennings.

THE WEEK THAT WAS: First and foremost, congrats on another tremendous season. Talk to me about both the regular season and the postseason. For a second straight year, we were ranked in The Washington Post Top 10 poll – suggesting your program now has some name recognition and is ready to challenge for top honors in the WCAC each and every year. Ditto for the State playoffs, where we held down the #2 rating in the State poll almost all year long. Give us some insight to this year's team and their accomplishments during the course of the fall campaign, which included a 16-game unbeaten string en route to a 10-3-6 record overall.

COACH JENNINGS: This year's team was as talented as any side in the area. We returned a youthful, but talented group and promoted some players from within our own ranks. Despite graduating 12 seniors from the 2015 state finalists, we had veteran players returning to the spine of our team. The players stayed true to the principles and values that have become paramount to our success as a program – keep possession of the ball, create chances and work tirelessly to get the ball back if we lose it.

As you mentioned, we went through a string of 16 games unbeaten and were able to once again get into The Washington Post Top 10. This group also had one other massive achievement – going unbeaten in the rigorous WCAC. I don't know the last time an O'Connell team went unbeaten in the league, but for me, that is a big deal. The quality of the WCAC is pretty remarkable when you consider the Virginia, Maryland and D.C. state championships are likely to be won by a school in our league. To go through the entire campaign without a loss was something we were proud of and speaks to the quality of our program.

TWTW: Certainly we had more than our fair share of adversity, especially near the season's end when injuries decimated any hopes of a post-season run similar to a year ago. I am interested in your assessment of the season and our play throughout the fall campaign.

COACH JENNINGS: As I alluded to previously, we pride ourselves on playing an attractive, possession-based game with creative tendencies in the attack and pressing defensively. We like our players to take responsibility for the tempo of the game and to be in charge in possession as well as without the ball. For the most part, we did that this year for long stretches of time. Keep in mind that many of our players are also juggling demanding club team schedules as well. To ask them to perform at a high level for three, four games per week is quite challenging, but they were up for the task.

We opened the season with an unlucky 1-0 defeat to eventual Virginia state champ St. Christopher's. We created plenty of chances in the game and couldn't quite find the back of the net. The lone goal of the game came from an odd handball and penalty decision against us - and the run of play.

After dropping the opening fixture, we rebounded to make a run in our non-conference schedule. We went 4-0-2 while scoring 20 goals and conceding five – highlighted by an 8-0 win at Trinity Christian and 4-0 win vs Episcopal.

We entered WCAC play on a roll and continued through league play with a 5-0-4 record while scoring 27 goals and conceding eight.

Unfortunately, we did suffer a couple injuries toward the end of the regular season that derailed our playoff hopes. During our 2-1 victory at Gonzaga, our starting goalkeeper – Marcelo Flores (a sophomore, pictured right) – tore his ACL while making a routine save. Our backups did an excellent job stepping in, but Marcelo was a huge loss for our group as he is also one of the team captains. Another sophomore contributor, forward Matthew Cantisani, broke his collarbone late in the season playing for his club team. Senior captain Juan Benavides missed time and most training sessions while battling an ankle injury and our other senior captain, Andres Garcia (pictured top), suffered a concussion late in the year as well. With the injuries and knocks on our group – along with a short bench, we weren't able to muster as long of a postseason run as we would have liked.

TWTW: Who were our top players – and why were they so? Address their individual skills and abilities and, at the same time, what they brought to the team. Any stats or anything like that would be nice, as well.

COACH JENNINGS: The Knights were led by returning midfielders Juan Benavides and Andres Garcia. Both players earned All-State honors last year as juniors and looked to continue their good form for their senior season. Andres led the group in goals (13) and assists (6). He also earned WCAC Co-Player of the Year honors along with All-South Region, 1^st Team All-State, 1^st Team All-WCAC and team Most Outstanding Player. Juan made an early-season position change to more of a defensive midfielder and performed amazingly. From his deeper midfield role, he still managed to drive the team forward and scored seven goals – many of them in big WCAC games late in the season. He also chipped in with four assists while also earning 1^st Team All-State, 1^st Team All-WCAC and team Most Valuable Player.

There were a host of other players who stepped up and led the group this season as well – headlined by a couple of up-and-coming sophomores, Marcelo Flores and Victor Montero (pictured left). Marcelo anchored our defensive unit from the goalkeeper position and performed admirably all season until his ACL injury. Flores earned 1^st Team All-State, 2^nd Team All-WCAC and was named a team captain. The Knights will look to Flores for his on-field abilities and leadership for years to come. Juniors Nick Barahona, Jason Nunez and Alex Abril were key to the success of the back four unit, while senior Luis Ochoa (pictured below) made a position change to secure the left back position. Luis' move from midfield to left back proved to be pivotal as he solidified an area of need for the team. He went on to earn WCAC Honorable Mention and the team's Coaches Award. Barahona and Abril were also named WCAC Honorable Mentions.

Sophomore forward Victor Montero also had an outstanding campaign. He led all underclassmen with seven goals, five assists and won a handful of penalty kicks throughout the year. His service from corners and dead-ball situations proved to be a great attacking weapon for the team. Montero earned 1^st Team All-State and 2^nd Team All-WCAC. Rounding out the midfield and attack were juniors Aidan O'Connell, Chris Ho and Diego Solano. O'Connell chipped in six goals, while Solano added four goals along with four assists.

TWTW: Despite the loss of 12 seniors from a year ago, we were once again ranked among the DMV's elite. That speaks well of your program. It appears not only has your program arrived, but it is here to stay. Share with us what you, Chris Jennings, have done to make it so in your five years here at O'Connell. Why are we who we are?

COACH JENNINGS: The growth and emergence of the boys soccer program has been phenomenal. We have been blessed to have the support of the school administration, athletic department and, most importantly, we have had some great student/athletes come into the program. We have not only attracted talented players to the program, but great young men who have worked very hard to take it to new heights. We also take great honor in trying to play the game in an attractive, possession-based and attacking way.

Our coaching staff works tirelessly to help the players achieve their personal and team goals while standing by our core beliefs. We feel the game is best played – and more players develop to a higher level – when we teach our players HOW to think and make decisions...not WHAT to think and give them the answers. Our training methods are geared toward giving our players habits to allow them to see what's going on around them, analyze space and make quick, creative decisions. The end result is an attractive product on the field, positive results for the team and the development of creative, talented players.

TWTW: Anything else that you would like to add?

COACH JENNINGS: We look forward to the continued success of the program. For the better part of my time here, we have been at the top of the state, recognized in the region and even gained national recognition in a Top 25 poll. The growth and development of the players has been fantastic to witness, and we are anxious to continue to work hard to improve.

For 2017, we return some talented juniors who we are expecting will mature into a quality senior class. Coming back will also be two All-State sophomores in Montero and Flores, while we expect others to develop and step into more prominent roles as well. There is plenty of hard work to put in this off-season in order to achieve another successful year come next Fall – and we are confident the players are up for the challenge once again.

This is Tommy Orndorff and that was The Week That Was.