“Demand what you deserve, give everything you have.”
The source of that quotation is the Greene coaching staff, and it is a mantra the entire soccer team is following on its way to a 5-0 start this season. Sophomore Alex Driscoll, the Trojans’ leading scorer this season – and last season as well – is quick to mention the quote, and says its not-so-hidden meaning is to simply work hard from the first whistle to the last.
Driscoll, already in his third varsity season, is every bit the hard worker, and is the Trojans’ go-to guy during crunch time. Head coach Rick Tallman saw that his team needed a spark in last week’s key division game against Delhi. The Bulldogs had the early advantage, and Tallman pulled his top offensive threat aside for a quick discussion.
“I tell (Alex) all the time that big-time players need to show up in big games,” Tallman said. “What I said on the sidelines was along those lines. I said he needed to show up and make something happen.”
Driscoll and his mates continued their steady offensive pressure, and that led to a foul on the Trojans Evan Moxley in the penalty box. Driscoll was called upon for the “PK,” and he nailed it into the lower right corner. Just a few minutes later, Driscoll played the ball inside the 18-yard box, beat two Delhi defenders, and scored the go-ahead goal as his team went on to beat Delhi for the first time in three years.
Driscoll added three goals in just one half last Friday against Unatego, and was named to the Oxford tourney’s All-Tournament team. He is also our honoree as Smith Ford LLC/Evening Sun Athlete of the Week.
Driscoll described the brief sideline conversation with Tallman, and it came after Driscoll was pulled from the field after a foul. “(What he said), I took it as a compliment,” Driscoll said. “I needed to keep my emotions in check, get my head on straight, and do what I can for the team.”
As a freshman, Driscoll put in 17 goals, and he already has nine this season, a pace that will easily eclipse his total from a year ago. He is now a primary focus of opposing defenses, and was battling as many as three defenders in last weekend’s tournament championship at Oxford. No matter, Driscoll didn’t score in the title game, but his team won the game to stay unbeaten.
“It’s a good feeling that I can have that kind of impact,” Driscoll said. “I didn’t get the ball around the goal, so I just played it to my teammates. We wouldn’t be anything without the whole team.”
Tallman knows other teams will try to body up and muscle the fairly slight Driscoll. In spite of that, the Greene coach feels his top striker is more than up to the challenge. “His size is deceiving, and he’s very strong on the ball,” Tallman said. “He doesn’t get knocked off the ball, and he can get through many defenders.”
An example of Driscoll’s ability to stay under control with the ball was his second goal against the Bulldogs in which he had to fight through bigger defenders to get a shot off. In contrast to his successful penalty kick in which he gave a slight fist pump after tying the game, Driscoll rushed into the arms of teammate Mark McDermott when the lead was taken for the first time.
It was the competitiveness of the moment, and Driscoll’s emotional reaction was not unlike any other athlete who celebrates a big play. He was just demanding what he deserved, and everything he gave led to a victory.