Midfield machine keeps humming for Hounds

By Dave Lomonico Associate Sports Editor

Like an offensive lineman in football or a catcher in baseball, soccer midfielders are the glue that holds the unit together. Underappreciated by casual fans but admired by teammates and coaches, midfielders define ruggedness, cohesion and nuance. They are the pistons that make the machine go.

"The job of the midfield is to link everything together," said sophomore Eddie Dines, one of three returning midfielders for a Loyola men's soccer team that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament a year ago. "Milos [Kocic] is getting the saves in goal, Jamie [Darvill] and Phil [Bannister] are scoring, but we don't mind not being in the limelight. We keep our heads down and do the work."

Dines, Danny Ankrah and Mike Deasel were freshmen in 2007, hungry and ready to prove they could play Division I soccer. What started as a major question mark for the surprising Greyhounds turned into a position of strength. It became a unit that played beyond its years, a cog for a team that went 19-4 and came within a few penalty kicks of upsetting powerhouse Maryland in the NCAA tournament. Now those three freshmen are a year older, and the question becomes: Will they get even better or will they succumb to the sophomore slump?

"We should be able to dominate the midfield," Dines said. "Last year everything was new - we were still getting used to the position - but now we have a connection and we know where each other is going to be."

Deasel also deflected any thoughts of a slump.

"We're not going to be happy or satisfied," Deasel said. "Every time we step on the field, we're going to play better than the game before."

Still, Mettrick worries about that second-year jinx. Some of it has to do with smug satisfaction, and some of it has to do with opponents' adjustments.

"Just because you've done well your freshman year doesn't mean you're going to do well your sophomore year," Mettrick said. "It really depends on how they [the midfield] use the first year and build on that success.

"At the end of the day, you have to make sure there's no complacency. There's a huge target on their [the midfielders'] backs, and that should be a huge motivator. They need to embrace that."

Deasel and Dines don't think there will be a problem, especially with that billboard-sized bull's-eye plastered on them and a team motto that emphasizes hard work, heart and a desire to win. Not to mention they have a locker room where no one, not even the goal scorers, is bigger than the ultimate goal of winning games collectively.

"We're all a team, we all work for each other, and it doesn't matter who gets the spotlight," Deasel said. "As long as we're winning, and we're all playing together, that's all I care about. We were disappointed losing to Maryland last year. No one is satisfied unless the end result is us being on top."

By nature of their position, midfielders are overlooked by those who only see the end result - the goal scored or the goal saved. "Forwards and goal keepers get all the attention," said Mettrick, smiling. The midfielders do the dirty work, setting up the key pass, intimidating the opposition, making a slide tackle, throwing around a few choice words, perhaps even drawing a yellow card to rile up the troops.

"Sometimes you need to get a yellow card to get your team behind the ball," said Dines, smirking.

"A big part of our games is playing physical and knocking people off the ball," Deasel added.

Of the three, Dines is perhaps the most recognizable name, thanks to his nine goals and 21 points a year ago, second only to Bannister.

Dines, who is one of the most athletic players on the team, is often asked to move up with the forwards, and as a result he gets to hear his name over the intercom a few more times than the other two middies. Last year against Towson, Dines launched himself into the box -- his body parallel to the ground -- thrust out his neck and headed the ball by the keeper for a goal.

"That was just one of the best goals I saw," Deasel said.

But scoring isn't the only trick in Dines' array of trades. The Hounds were leading 1-0 against St. Peter's last year, when the Peacocks launched an all-out offensive in the final minutes. With the game on the line, Dines outworked an opponent, frustrating him, and coaxed him into taking a swing. The ensuing red card turned the game around, allowing Loyola to claim victory.

"That's pure Eddie," Mettrick said. "He's a brave player, and that's priceless."

"Eddie is intense as heck," Deasel said. "I know he'd kill himself to work for me and the team just so we win. Even though he's an offensive midfielder, he's not going to cherry-pick; he'll be right there playing defense with me."

While Dines headlines the trio, Deasel might be the least heralded, which suits his quiet off-field demeanor just fine. But on the field, Deasel's as fierce as they come. He's a defensive midfielder, meaning that when the opposition goes on the attack, he's there to steal the momentum with a key tackle. Unfortunately for him, like an offensive lineman, his plays don't show up on the score sheet.

But they don't go unnoticed to the trained eyes of coaches and teammates. Mettrick called Deasel a "destroyer" for his ability to break up an attack, while also mentioning his technical soundness and catch-up speed when opponents get behind him.

"His defense is just amazing," Dines said. "I can go forward knowing that Mike's going to have my back. If it means he has to run 70 yards to make a tackle, he'll do it, and it makes my job so much easier."

Ankrah is a hybrid, not quite the defensive stopper that Deasel is and not quite the offensive force that Dines is. That being said, Ankrah might be the fastest and flashiest player on the field, his short legs spinning and whirring like bicycle rims. Think the cartoonish-like speed of Roadrunner or Speedy Gonzales.