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Marla Ridenour: Darren Mattocks a lucky strike for UA soccer program
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published: November 8, 2011 - 12:35 AM
marla08cut_1
Akron's Darren Mattocks works the ball around a pair of Michigan State defenders in the first period of a college soccer game at the University of Akron. (Michael Chritton/Akron Beacon Journal)
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UA soccer: Comparison between Darren Mattocks and past stars
In search of the next great striker for his University of Akron soccer program, Caleb Porter ventured into the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, and wasn’t sure he would come out alive.
The UA coach thought that he was taking a beach vacation when he flew to watch Darren Mattocks, the leading scorer in the Caribbean, play a club match in February 2010. It wasn’t until he arrived at the stadium that Porter realized what he had gotten himself into.
Sitting with about 2,000 others, Porter cast a wary eye at the fans surrounding him.
“There were times when I looked around and I’m like, ‘I may not get out of here. This is pretty rough,’ ” Porter said in a telephone interview last month. “It dawned on me that I must really want to win because I’m risking my life looking for the next coming of Teal Bunbury.”
After a recent Zips practice at FirstEnergy Stadium, Mattocks confirmed how his coach felt.
“Caleb was a bit scared, to be honest,” Mattocks said.
Other American colleges hoped to lure Mattocks, who saw soccer as a way out of poverty. His mother, Lasmine Montegue, who now works for his stepfather in a jewelry store, raised three children, two boys and a girl. They lived in Portmore, about 15 minutes outside of Kingston.
“There wasn’t much, but God always made a way,” Mattocks said.
Other U.S. coaches also came, including South Florida assistant Fred Dikranian. But Porter’s recruiting trip made an impression on Mattocks.
“I said, ‘This coach is really interested in me. That showed a lot about his commitment, so I think I should do the same for him,’ ” Mattocks said.
“I wanted to go to a program I could help go further, but they could help me go further. That’s the reason I came to Akron.”
That goal was fulfilled last season. With Darlington Nagbe drawing much of the attention, Mattocks scored a team-high 18 goals as a freshman as UA captured the school’s first national team championship.
Mattocks has scored 18 goals in 18 games for the Zips (13-3-3), with five game-winners. He was named a team captain two weeks ago, joining Chad Barson and Scott Caldwell. Mattocks recorded hat tricks Sept. 24 at Tulsa and Oct. 21 at Buffalo and also had one against Buffalo last season.
In two years, he has scored 36 goals in 43 games, which Porter called “an unbelievable strike rate.”
“The amazing thing with Darren, he had 18 goals his freshman year, which is unheard of, but he was just scratching the surface of what he could be and he approached things that way,” Porter said. “A lot of guys would have been satisfied with that freshman year and felt they had no progress to make. He felt the opposite. He knew he did well, but he knew he had a long way to go.
“His training habits have improved. He wasn’t a guy who was always going to defend. He wanted to score goals, I don’t know if he even knew the word defending. He’s made huge strides in that regard. Tactically he’s learned how not only to create for himself, but to open up space for his teammates. His understanding as a player has really improved. He’s a big reason we lost seven pros and are still having a great year.”
If his words are any indication, Mattocks’ motivation coming into this season was strong.
“I wanted to prove to everyone my freshman season wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t a fluke, that I’m the real deal,” he said. “You see all the top players, they keep going.”
Asked what he’s improved, he said, “My awareness, my touches, my technique.”
He’s also learned not to retaliate. Mattocks was red-carded in a 1-1 double-overtime draw with now-top-ranked New Mexico on Sept. 16, forcing the Zips to play without him for the final 52 minutes and in the next game against Cal-Poly.
“He’ll never make that mistake again,” Porter said. “Part of it is he’s been taught to fight back. That was a moment where he had to differentiate his upbringing with a soccer game and realize there’s a time you’ve got to control your emotions. He apologized to the team. Some guys wouldn’t have learned, but he’s such a good kid and he’s very humble.”
Asked if that would ever happen again, Mattocks said, “Never.”
“The most important thing [I learned] is everyone’s watching,” he said. “Your team needs you every game.”
Mattocks has a chance to become the third consecutive UA player to win the Hermann Trophy, soccer’s version of the Heisman, following Nagbe and Bunbury (2009). Steve Zakuani was the runner-up in 2008.
After the season, it seems likely Mattocks will follow those three into the professional ranks, perhaps with Major League Soccer.
“I think I am ready for the MLS because I’ve learned a lot more about the game, but I believe that one more year in school will be much better for me,” Mattocks told the Jamaica Star earlier this year. “I also believe that if I wait another year, my financial value will also be up. Hopefully by this time next year I will be playing for one of the top clubs in the MLS or in Europe because there have been a lot of calls from clubs overseas inquiring about me.”
But Mattocks has a mission to accomplish before he can get on with his life’s work.
The Zips will host the Mid-American Conference Tournament, starting at 5 p.m. Friday against Western Michigan in a semifinal. The final is at 4 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The NCAA Tournament begins Nov. 17.
“There’s a lot on my shoulders to bring the team forward,” Mattocks said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but as Caleb said, ‘Big players step up when they’re needed the most.’ Tournament time is the time where you really see what you can do. That’s my aim, to carry the team forward to a national championship.”
As postseason play begins, Porter hopes he’ll see from Mattocks what he noticed that dangerous day in Jamaica.
“I could have walked out of the stadium in five minutes,” Porter said. “I’m like, ‘This is the guy. This guy is a game-changer. This guy is special.’ I would have bet my life on it right then that he would be doing what he’s doing.
“I’ve been trying to identify talent for 12 years and you start to get good enough where it doesn’t take you long. If you’ve got a special one, you get that feeling in your gut and you know immediately. He looked like a thoroughbred racehorse. The first time I saw him take off and the first time I saw him touch the ball, I was like, ‘This guy is the real deal.’ ”
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published: November 8, 2011 - 12:35 AM
marla08cut_1
Akron's Darren Mattocks works the ball around a pair of Michigan State defenders in the first period of a college soccer game at the University of Akron. (Michael Chritton/Akron Beacon Journal)
View More Photos >>
RELATED STORIES
UA soccer: Comparison between Darren Mattocks and past stars
In search of the next great striker for his University of Akron soccer program, Caleb Porter ventured into the heart of Kingston, Jamaica, and wasn’t sure he would come out alive.
The UA coach thought that he was taking a beach vacation when he flew to watch Darren Mattocks, the leading scorer in the Caribbean, play a club match in February 2010. It wasn’t until he arrived at the stadium that Porter realized what he had gotten himself into.
Sitting with about 2,000 others, Porter cast a wary eye at the fans surrounding him.
“There were times when I looked around and I’m like, ‘I may not get out of here. This is pretty rough,’ ” Porter said in a telephone interview last month. “It dawned on me that I must really want to win because I’m risking my life looking for the next coming of Teal Bunbury.”
After a recent Zips practice at FirstEnergy Stadium, Mattocks confirmed how his coach felt.
“Caleb was a bit scared, to be honest,” Mattocks said.
Other American colleges hoped to lure Mattocks, who saw soccer as a way out of poverty. His mother, Lasmine Montegue, who now works for his stepfather in a jewelry store, raised three children, two boys and a girl. They lived in Portmore, about 15 minutes outside of Kingston.
“There wasn’t much, but God always made a way,” Mattocks said.
Other U.S. coaches also came, including South Florida assistant Fred Dikranian. But Porter’s recruiting trip made an impression on Mattocks.
“I said, ‘This coach is really interested in me. That showed a lot about his commitment, so I think I should do the same for him,’ ” Mattocks said.
“I wanted to go to a program I could help go further, but they could help me go further. That’s the reason I came to Akron.”
That goal was fulfilled last season. With Darlington Nagbe drawing much of the attention, Mattocks scored a team-high 18 goals as a freshman as UA captured the school’s first national team championship.
Mattocks has scored 18 goals in 18 games for the Zips (13-3-3), with five game-winners. He was named a team captain two weeks ago, joining Chad Barson and Scott Caldwell. Mattocks recorded hat tricks Sept. 24 at Tulsa and Oct. 21 at Buffalo and also had one against Buffalo last season.
In two years, he has scored 36 goals in 43 games, which Porter called “an unbelievable strike rate.”
“The amazing thing with Darren, he had 18 goals his freshman year, which is unheard of, but he was just scratching the surface of what he could be and he approached things that way,” Porter said. “A lot of guys would have been satisfied with that freshman year and felt they had no progress to make. He felt the opposite. He knew he did well, but he knew he had a long way to go.
“His training habits have improved. He wasn’t a guy who was always going to defend. He wanted to score goals, I don’t know if he even knew the word defending. He’s made huge strides in that regard. Tactically he’s learned how not only to create for himself, but to open up space for his teammates. His understanding as a player has really improved. He’s a big reason we lost seven pros and are still having a great year.”
If his words are any indication, Mattocks’ motivation coming into this season was strong.
“I wanted to prove to everyone my freshman season wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t a fluke, that I’m the real deal,” he said. “You see all the top players, they keep going.”
Asked what he’s improved, he said, “My awareness, my touches, my technique.”
He’s also learned not to retaliate. Mattocks was red-carded in a 1-1 double-overtime draw with now-top-ranked New Mexico on Sept. 16, forcing the Zips to play without him for the final 52 minutes and in the next game against Cal-Poly.
“He’ll never make that mistake again,” Porter said. “Part of it is he’s been taught to fight back. That was a moment where he had to differentiate his upbringing with a soccer game and realize there’s a time you’ve got to control your emotions. He apologized to the team. Some guys wouldn’t have learned, but he’s such a good kid and he’s very humble.”
Asked if that would ever happen again, Mattocks said, “Never.”
“The most important thing [I learned] is everyone’s watching,” he said. “Your team needs you every game.”
Mattocks has a chance to become the third consecutive UA player to win the Hermann Trophy, soccer’s version of the Heisman, following Nagbe and Bunbury (2009). Steve Zakuani was the runner-up in 2008.
After the season, it seems likely Mattocks will follow those three into the professional ranks, perhaps with Major League Soccer.
“I think I am ready for the MLS because I’ve learned a lot more about the game, but I believe that one more year in school will be much better for me,” Mattocks told the Jamaica Star earlier this year. “I also believe that if I wait another year, my financial value will also be up. Hopefully by this time next year I will be playing for one of the top clubs in the MLS or in Europe because there have been a lot of calls from clubs overseas inquiring about me.”
But Mattocks has a mission to accomplish before he can get on with his life’s work.
The Zips will host the Mid-American Conference Tournament, starting at 5 p.m. Friday against Western Michigan in a semifinal. The final is at 4 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The NCAA Tournament begins Nov. 17.
“There’s a lot on my shoulders to bring the team forward,” Mattocks said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but as Caleb said, ‘Big players step up when they’re needed the most.’ Tournament time is the time where you really see what you can do. That’s my aim, to carry the team forward to a national championship.”
As postseason play begins, Porter hopes he’ll see from Mattocks what he noticed that dangerous day in Jamaica.
“I could have walked out of the stadium in five minutes,” Porter said. “I’m like, ‘This is the guy. This guy is a game-changer. This guy is special.’ I would have bet my life on it right then that he would be doing what he’s doing.
“I’ve been trying to identify talent for 12 years and you start to get good enough where it doesn’t take you long. If you’ve got a special one, you get that feeling in your gut and you know immediately. He looked like a thoroughbred racehorse. The first time I saw him take off and the first time I saw him touch the ball, I was like, ‘This guy is the real deal.’ ”