By Harry Minium
NORFOLK – As he was brainstorming a year ago with his assistant coaches how to turn round Old Dominion's men's soccer program, head coach Alan Dawson decided he had to change recruiting philosophies.
ODU had finished 3-9-2, its third losing record in a row, an uncommon streak for a coach who has taken ODU to 12 NCAA tournaments and has now won 385 games in his 36 ½ years as a head coach.
He largely recruited freshmen, both from America and other countries. But the transfer portal changed the game, and he changed with it. Dawson and assistant coaches Tennant McVea and Nathan Jones hit the transfer portal hard this season.
They brought in four transfers who, when added with a solid recruiting class of freshman, has resulted in a rebirth of sorts for the Monarch soccer team.
ODU (5-4-2, 2-1-1 Sun Belt) hosts South Carolina Wednesday at 7 p.m., and is coming off one of its biggest victories in years, a 2-1 upset of No. 4 Marshall last weekend in Huntington, West Virginia. Marshall won the 2020 national championship, and the victory came in front of a hostile crowd of nearly 1,500.
Jonas Schmalbach, a forward who also plays midfield for ODU, is typical of the transfers who have given a talented team more experience and on-the-field swagger.
A native of Venice Italy, he is the son of German parents and carries dual citizenship. He was a standout player at Central Florida who graduated in three years and wanted to find a program where he might win a championship.
He knew Dawson's track record and was convinced enough to take a recruiting trip. Once here he was shown around campus by Nicola Missiroli, a transfer from Gardner-Webb who is also from Italy. It also helped that teammates Jan Marpe and Nick Osygus are from Germany and Fabian Rieser from Austria, a German-speaking country.
Not that Schmalbach has a problem communicating in different languages – he is fluent in Italian, German, French, Spanish and English, which he speaks with only a slight accent.
He is working on his MBA at ODU, a two-year program that is challenging and likely guarantees he will be back next season.
"He's a smart guy and mature," Dawson. "He leads by example."
Schmalbach is tied with Michael Eberle, a freshman, for second on the team in scoring with seven points. Another transfer student, Tristan Jenkins, a graduate student from the University of South Wales, leads ODU with five goals and 10 points.
Schmalbach was convinced to come to ODU to help bring the program back to its glory days. ODU is playing its first season in the Sun Belt Conference, which began playing soccer this season with a lineup that makes it one of the nation's best soccer leagues.
Because the SEC and Big 12 don't sponsor men's soccer, Kentucky, South Carolina and West Virginia are in the Sun Belt along with five schools who are full Sun Belt members, including Georgia State, which has an outstanding soccer tradition.
"The coaches told me I would play against some of the best teams and best players in the country," he said. "The conference we're in is very attractive.
"ODU still has a big reputation because of its past success. So, I saw it as a challenge to help bring success back to Old Dominion."
Dawson said the transfer portal, combined with careful recruiting of talented freshman, has resulted in more success for the Monarchs this season.
"College soccer it seems like it's almost a European man's amateur league," he said. "So many teams have 23- and 24-year-olds doing graduate work.
"The physicality of the game is huge. It's so much more physical than it used to be. So, we had to adjust as best we could."
As if playing in the Sun Belt wasn't difficult enough, Dawson scheduled a mid-season game at No. 8 Maryland.
"I did that deliberately," Dawson said. "They're nationally ranked and when you play there, it's a hostile environment. I wanted these guys to experience that because I thought it would be valuable."
ODU lost 1-0, but Dawson said the Terps were pressed until the very end of the game.
"We should have gotten a result. We had our chances to at least tie the game up," Dawson said. "It was a really good experience for us and carried over into the Marshall game, where they also have good fans."
Because preseason practice for men's soccer is limited, the team lost some games it likely would win now, Schmalbach said. With so many newcomers, it took a while for the team to jell, he said.
"I feel like that's one of the reasons a struggled a bit in the early games," he said. "We didn't really find our rhythm early.
"I feel like if we were to go back now and play the games we played at the beginning of the season, our record would probably be better."
The team continues to be inspired by, of all things, a rock Dawson found next to his car one morning during preseason practice. It was pink and blue and had the word "faith" painted on it.
It had a small tag indicating it was created in honor of Hayley Reynolds, a member of the U.S. Air Force killed in a car wreck in England in 2017.
Dawson reached out to Tina Reynolds, Hayley's mother, and discovered the rock had last been seen in Arkansas. It was among dozens she has painted in memory of her daughter. People who find them are asked to contact her and then leave it someplace for others to find.
Dawson told his team about the rock just before its season opener, saying if this mother can maintain so much faith after losing her daughter, we can play hard and maintain faith in each other.
"It was very inspirational," Schmalbach said. "It sparked something inside of us because it's something bigger than this program and bigger than ourselves."
When the Monarchs aren't playing, the rock is displayed in the locker room. On game days Dawson takes it on the field in a small bag.
"The rock was with us at Marshall," Dawson said.
The Marshall victory all but guaranteed the Monarchs a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament, which is hosted at the higher-seeded teams. ODU still has a chance to host at least one game.
"Our game against South Carolina is a very big game," he said. "We didn't play well in our last home game (a 4-0 loss to West Virginia). We want to make amends for that."
As for Schmalbach, this season has been everything he'd hoped for so far. Although he's played soccer all of his life as many levels, including two years in Switzerland, he pulled Dawson aside after the win at Marshall and told him it was the biggest victory of his career.
"I've never been on a team that's beaten somebody in the top five," he said.
"It was a great victory. And it shows everyone what this team is capable of doing."
Contact Minium at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Minium: Jonas Schmalbach Among Transfers Who Have Helped Revive ODU Men's Soccer
