When Dominican University of California men’s soccer left the pitch yesterday after its 1-0 victory over Concordia Irvine, it knew it owned at least a share of the conference title. Still fighting for more, the Penguins look to be the sole proprietors of the title with a win over Point Loma tomorrow on Senior Day. The success of this season bodes the questions — where did it all begin and how did they get here?
“This team is not that special. They’re a group of young men who have worked extremely hard, put a lot of time, focus, and commitment into a common goal, and stuck to it through thick and thin. Now that I’ve said that out loud, it’s probably at least a little bit special,” head coach Dave Frank said. “But my point is that they understand being who they are while trying to be the best version of themselves on and off the field while also continuing to learn and develop is what will help them find success. It’s not anything special. It’s just a group that has bought in to a process and believed in one another, as well as what we’re all about as a team and program.”
Looking back on the 2021 season, Dominican entered conference play with an undefeated 5-0-1 record, but participating in a PacWest Conference filled with powerhouse programs often means that non-conference play is just a palate cleanser for what’s to come and Dominican experienced just that. Still, the sun would rise on the horizon as Dominican looked ahead to 2022 with high aspirations as it was set to return a strong group of players while introducing an impressive freshman class.
News broke on Friday, August 19th as the PacWest Preseason Poll was released, stating rankings for each program as voted on by the coaches. Azusa Pacific, Point Loma, Biola, Concordia, but no Dominican. To find the team, one would have to spend a little more time and be willing to read the entire list as the Penguins came in as a projected No. 7 with no first-place votes and not a single player included on the Preseason All-PacWest Men’s Soccer Team. Opposing coaches may not have been taught the adolescent lesson that you don’t add gasoline to a fire, but the 93 premium was now flooding the flame.
Perhaps it was the injury to talented forward Joe Blakely in the final game of the 2021 season that caused him to miss the entirety of 2022, or a devastating injury to 8-game starter Thomas Van Schoor in addition to a preseason knee injury to sophomore Declan O’Flynn that gave Dominican the motivation it needed. Regardless, Dominican had every reason the world could give to want more for its team, so it set out to do just that — want more, then earn more.
A strong start to the non-conference season saw Dominican with a 3-0 record but dropping three of its next four games meant that Dominican entered conference play at 4-3. Adding to the devastation already discussed, senior Cole Porter suffered a season-ending injury that saw Dominican down one of its premier players as Porter had started in every game during the non-conference season, tallying a goal and an assist while playing at least 58 minutes in every contest. Still, the team marched forward as a “next man up” mentality meant that a huge void left by Porter’s injury needed to somehow be filled.
To this point, sophomore Lex Bernier had played no more than 32 minutes as he completed his recovery from an offseason injury. Bernier was working on getting his conditioning back to a level that could see him on the field for extended periods of time before the Porter injury opened more space for Bernier to compete. Bernier’s DNA is filled with early mornings in the Conlan Center parking lot before the building opens, then arriving early to practice and staying late, and his intense preparations were now about to see the results he desired.
If one lesson was learned the season prior it was that everything changes once the PacWest season begins, so Dominican took its talents and a blank slate to Hawaii to embark on a on a grueling island “vacation” that saw the squad play three games in five days. It wasn’t long before the Penguins were named conference team of the week as it returned home with three wins in-hand. Bernier averaged 46 minutes of playing time on the trip, 14 more minutes than he had played in any game up until this point, and the sophomore sensation was ready to make his mark.
The Porter-Bernier switch wasn’t the only major change on the field as junior Brian Diaz suffered a broken jaw against Chaminade on the Hawaii trip, an injury that he’d later find out would sideline him for the entirety of the season. Diaz had started in all 10 games up until this point, never playing in less than 54 minutes of any contest. Another injury to a main contributor meant another opportunity for someone, or some people, to step in — insert a pair of familiar faces.
Junior Nick Van der Waart van Gulik stepped into the hole created by the Diaz departure, playing a season-high 87 minutes in the game that Diaz left with injury. Van der Waart van Gulik scored his first goal of the season just a few games prior, setting the tone for opposing teams as the foe knew of his offensive capabilities. The junior added an assist on the game’s only goal against Chaminade, showing that he was more than ready for any task that would be given to him. He was joined by graduate student Eddie Silverbush as Silverbush returned from injury one game before the Hawaii trip, perfect timing as Dominican was soon looking for the jump that Silverbush was already known to provide. It only took three games for Silverbush to see more than 80 minutes of playing time, starting in seven of the next eight games that Diaz missed. Theoretical monumental round of applauses are given to the athletes that rose to the occasions as Dominican displayed its depth whereas many teams would have crumbled under the plethora of injuries.
The players already spoken of are just portions of what has assembled this team. Senior Brian Sanchez showed that giving the Penguins a penalty kick was almost worth just putting the ball back at midfield since it would soon end up there anyway as he buried seven penalty kicks during the 2022 season with junior Aboubacar Cisse adding two of his own while also taking over games with his skill in the midfield. Sophomore Brandon Selway was often seen flying through the air when Dominican earned corner kicks, while he and seniors Maxwell Ward, Ryan Garvey and Louie Galdamez made the space near the Dominican goal a completely undesirable area for opposing attackers.
Junior Jesus Duran saved his best for the latter half of the season with six points in his last nine games to be a top-3 point-getter for the Penguins, while Diego Grande scored the co-conference-clinching goal in a 1-0 victory of CUI just yesterday afternoon. Graduate student Dominican Galletti proved that you call his name if you ever need someone to have your back as his strength often leads to golden opportunities on the attack, likely directly before or after his name gets written on a yellow card. Senior Christopher Barrios commanded the midfield while channeling his inner Maradona with his ball skills that left opposing players dazed and confused while attempting to locate the soccer ball, and senior Elias Muro provided a tempo off the bench that is unmatched as he saw more playing time in 2022 than any other season at Dominican largely do, also, to an increased soccer sense.
Junior Shawn Verdote added pace from the bench as Dominican showcased a depth that is almost incomprehensible and, of course, a vocal brick wall and established leader as Alejandro Reyes steadied, led, anchored and steered the ship in each and every game this season, with his crowning moment coming in the biggest moment of his career when he stopped a penalty kick against CUI that would have tied the game and put Dominican in a situation where it may not have been named a PacWest champion. All this in addition to a remarkable group of young men who are the unsung heroes of the squad as the come day in and day out to train and propel their team to the spot they are now in.
Dominican went on to win all but one of its remaining games, catapulting itself to the top of the conference leaderboard with an 8-1 conference record. Back-to-back two goal second half deficits were overcome on the journey, with one of those comebacks crowning the Penguin as the Bay Area Clasico Cup Champions. Dominican built itself for the big moments, a point that has been proven during the course of the entire season.
Now, with one final dawn before championship Saturday, Dominican has not settled. With nothing less than a Co-Conference Champion on its plate, Dominican wants more and is set to earn more. The title of Co-Champion is more than enough, but when has enough ever been good for this team? A win tomorrow would mean sole ownership of the conference title and an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament. This team has already tasted greatness and now they want more of it. How special is this team? We’ll let coach Frank articulate that.
“So much. So, so much,” coach Frank said. “Not because of a championship or wins, but because we’ve been right there the whole year and fought through challenges and stumbles along the way, but always found ways to get through it. Even after the losses, we bounced back with great training sessions and performances in the next game. That to me means a lot because the team realizes what the journey is all about and how to respond to adversity. That is so much more valuable than winning soccer games and hopefully these guys will take that with them for the rest of their lives. And for this to be my own most successful season as a head coach at the college level, and my first year as a father, it’s so priceless. I’ll never forget it.”