By Alex Frazier
Meet…Alex Ockford
His actions speak louder than his words.
Quiet by nature, Pennsbury’s Alex Ockford speaks volumes with his feet.
“He’s a very cerebral player the way he plays,” said Pennsbury coach Peter Hughes. “He’d much prefer to intercept passes, nick the ball off strikers’ feet as they’re attacking. His positional sense is very good and his distribution is excellent. He’s very composed on the ball, but can stick tackles when he wants to.”
Alex also plays with his brother Jim, who is a junior.
“They’re both doing very well,” said Hughes.
Despite being brothers, the two are very different players.
“Jimmy’s more tricky and offensive-minded player, with a striker’s foot skills, whereas Alex is just an unbelievable defender,” said Hughes. “He’s a very sophisticated defender. He doesn’t have to be physical.”
Jimmy, on the other hand, uses his skills to score goals. He and Eddie Adams lead the team in scoring.
This year Ockford is captain of the team, a responsibility that almost demands verbal as well as physical skills.
“He’s definitely a leader by example,” said Hughes. “When he was a sophomore, you could hardly get a word out of him, but I’ve noticed he’s a lot more vocal this year, probably just where he needs to be.”
“I like leading from the back, just communicating with people and taking a leadership role,” said Ockford.
But he also feels some pressure.
“You’re held to higher standards,” he said. “Everyone is judging you as captain. You’re not just a player. You have to represent yourself on the field. You can’t get cards or argue with officials. You have to set the example for the rest of your team.”
Ockford started his soccer career with the Yardley Morrisville Soccer Club through U-12. The next year he went to the FC Delco Hammerheads, which have won four regional titles and placed third at nationals twice and were runner-up once.
Three other SOL players are on his team—Kyle Soroka of Neshaminy, Greg Cochrane of Council Rock South and Alex Wimmer of Council Rock North.
He credits his play with Delco for his success.
“As soon as I switched over, it was a great improvement in coaching and the training, especially because you’re playing with kids that are so good you have to be good to compete,” said Ockford.
When he switched to Delco, he also switched from striker and center midfield to defense. He also goes forward on corners to use his six-foot height and jumping ability. He has scored twice this year off of corners.
Ockford broke into the Pennsbury lineup as a flank midfielder when he was a sophomore.
“He did very well,” said Hughes. “I often do that with sophomores and freshmen as they come along. Most players will tell me where they play for club ball, but Alex is the quiet man and never told me.”
As it turned out, he played center back for his FC Delco team. But he didn’t have a problem with playing on the flank.
“He did very well even though he was out of position,” said Hughes. “I heard through the grapevine that he played center back on his Delco team.”
When Ockford returned as a junior, Hughes said he heard he was a center back.
And Ockford’s reply was, “That’s right coach, I’ll play anywhere.”
“That’s typical of his personality,” said Hughes.
Next year Ockford will attend Mount St. Mary’s University. His decision wasn’t too difficult.
“I wanted a smaller school,” he said. “I’ve known the coach my whole life. He’s a family friend. I went to all the camps when I was younger. It’s a good program, and I know he’ll be a good coach.”
A 4.3 grade-point-average student, he plans on majoring in some aspect of science.
The following year his younger brother may join him at Mount St. Mary’s. The two have been playing soccer together for their entire lives.
“That would be cool going to the same college,” said Alex. “It would be easy on our parents too.”
After a couple of tough years in districts, Pennsbury is hoping to qualify for states this year.
Two years ago, they were eliminated by Souderton on a penalty kick in the quarterfinals. Last year Downingtown West knocked the Falcons out, again in the semifinals, 2-0.
“This year we’re hoping to get past that,” said Ockford. “It’s been our goal all year.”
Spartans battle odds – Being the smallest school in the Suburban One League, Springfield is always fighting an uphill battle.
But the mighty Spartans seem to hold their own, although their record doesn’t always reflect that.
This year, for example, Springfield lost its first game by 1-0 score to No. 3-ranked Father Judge. The Spartans also lost a pair of 1-0 decisions to Wissahickon. In fact, most of their losses were by a single goal, the two exceptions were Norristown and Upper Dublin on Monday evening.
Almost by unanimous acclaim of league coaches, the Spartans feature the best goalie in the American Conference. Ironically, Greg Ashton started his freshman year as a very promising field player, but four games into the season he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
“He could have played anywhere,” said coach Dan Meder. “I had him at striker, I had him at midfield and I even had him at defense. To start varsity as a freshman is a pretty big deal even at my school.”
Through the winter Ashton rehabbed his knee and was prepared to start soccer again in June. But over the summer, he tore it once again and had to sit out his entire sophomore year.
Before entering his junior year, he called coach Meder and asked him if he could play goalie. The Spartans already had a pretty good goalie in Greg Zenner. The two ended up splitting time last year.
Last summer, Zenner brushed up on his field skills and offered to play on the field this year.
“He’s been phenomenal,” said Meder. “He’s a good athlete. He said he’d do whatever I wanted him to do.”
Even without an ACL, Ashton can punt a ball into the offensive end of the field.
“When he punts the ball, it’s like an offensive threat,” said Meder. “He can use either foot. He’s also a kid that our kids are confident with where they’ll play him the ball backwards. If he were on the field, he’d be the best player on our team.”
The arrangement has worked out well. Springfield is a tough team to score on as can be attested to by other league coaches such as Wissahickon’s Stuart Malcolm.
Two other seniors, Matt Henry and Mack Woron are doing a great job in the midfield and sophomore John Trueman leads the team in scoring.
When it comes to playoff time, Springfield has historically been a consistent qualifier for the Class AA district playoffs, the exceptions being the last two years.
Springfield could easily be a Class A team. In the last configuration, the range of population for Class A was 0-241 students. Springfield had 242. And since then, the population has dropped.
This year, Meder is hoping to end the playoff drought. The other two AA teams are Upper Merion and Upper Moreland, both of whom Springfield defeated in the go-round. The SOL gets one automatic bid, and there’s also an at-large bid. Either way, the Spartans hope to be there once again.
“I have a really nice team,” said Meder. “We’ve dropped some games I can’t believe.”
Around the league – Pennsbury soared over the first of four major hurdles Thursday en route to the National Conference championship by defeating Abington, 5-1. The Falcons finish the season with Council Rock South, Neshaminy, William Tennent and Harry S Truman.
Second place Council Rock North kept pace in case the Falcons stumbled, defeating William Tennent, 4-0.
Other action in the National Conference included Council Rock South’s 5-0 win over Bensalem and Neshaminy’s 9-1 rout of Harry S Truman.
In the Continental Conference, Pennridge gave Central Bucks East a scare before Mike Whittaker scored 4:15 into overtime to lift the Patriots to the victory. Derek Swope was the difference for North Penn in a 2-1 win over Souderton.
In the American Conference, Upper Dublin’s Ian Smith scored on a breakaway to avenge a 3-2 loss to Wissahickon. The Cardinals’ 1-0 win lifted them into first place by a half a game.
Springfield’s Matt Henry also avenged a 2-0 loss to Norristown by scoring the game winner with seven seconds left in the second overtime for the 1-0 win.
Upper Merion earned a measure of revenge by tying Cheltenham 0-0 after losing to the Panthers in the first meeting. Plymouth Whitemarsh edged Upper Moreland 3-2.
SuburbanOneSports.com’s SOL Top Five
1. Pennsbury
2. Council Rock North
3. Central Bucks East
4. Abington
5. Pennridge
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association
(through Sunday)
1. Downingtown West. . . 10-0-0
2. Lower Merion. . . 9-1-0
3. Father Judge. . . 9-0-1
4. Central Bucks East. . . 10-1-0
5. Pennsbury. . . 8-2-1
6. Holy Ghost Prep. . . 8-1-1
7. Council Rock North. . . 7-3-1
8. Abington. . . 8-3-1
9. North Catholic. . . 7-0-2
10. Strath Haven. . . 9-1-1
11. Archbishop Wood. . . 10-0-1
12. Germantown Academy. . . 6-1-2
13. William Tennent. . . 6-3-1
14. St. Joseph's Prep. . . 8-3-0
15. Haverford School. . . 4-1-0
16. Washington. . . 6-0-1
17. Conestoga. . . 8-1-0
18. Neshaminy. . . 6-3-1
19. Christopher Dock. . . 6-2-1
20. Upper Darby. . . 7-1-2
Others receiving votes: Bayard Rustin, Shipley, Central, Marple Newtown, Pennridge, Wissahickon, Hatboro-Horsham, Pottsgrove, Lansdale Catholic, Radnor, Delco Christian, Bartram, La Salle, Owen J. Roberts.
PSCA/Angelo's Soccer Corner Poll
(Week of Sept. 29)
1. Downingtown West (1) previous rank1
2. Redland (3) 2
3. Lower Merion (1) 3
4. Mt. Lebanon (7) 4
5. Father Judge (12) 5
6. Central Bucks East (1) 6
7. Franklin Regional (7) 8
8. Manheim Township (3) 10
9. Nazareth (11) HM
10. Bethlehem Freedom (11) 7
Honorable Mention: Abington (1), Council Rock North (1), Elizabethtown (3), Ephrata (3), Erie Cathedral Prep (10), Norwin (7), Pennsbury (1), State College (6), Twin Valley (3) Warwick (3), Wyoming Valley West (2).
NSCAA/adidas® Region III National Rankings
(Sept. 30)
1. St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) 8 - 0 - 0
2. Downingtown West (Downingtown, Pa.) 9 - 0 - 0
3. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 6 - 0 - 0
4. Red Land (Lewisberry, Pa.) 12 - 1 - 0
5. Ramapo (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) 4 - 0 - 1
6. Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 13 - 0 - 0
7. Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 9 - 0 - 1
8. The Pingry School (Martinsville, N.J.) 6 - 0 - 1
9. Lower Merion (Merion, Pa.) 9 - 1 - 0
10. Central Bucks East (Doylestown, Pa.) 10 - 1 - 0
11. Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly, N.J.) 5 - 0 - 1
12. Harrison (N.J.) 5 - 1 - 0
13. Manheim Township (Lancaster, Pa.) 9 - 2 - 1
14. Columbia (Maplewood, N.J.) 6 - 1 - 0
15. Franklin Regional (Murrysville, Pa.) 9 - 0 - 2
- Log in to post comments
0
