Garbage Time Counts

By Brandon Petersen

If you've spent any time at all around the Westcliff men's soccer team this fall, you're probably also familiar with the face and imposing 6-5 frame of the baseball team's southpaw reliever, Brandon Seidner.

Seidner hails from Schaumburg, IL, which is why the Cubbies fan can't help but glare at me as I run the livestream from beneath my Pittsburgh Pirates hat. (I get a pass because I'm really a Mariners fan, and everyone pities a Mariners fan).

A prototypical baseball soul, complete with deeply-rooted superstitions, Seidner, a student-worker for Westcliff's SID team, doubles as a good luck charm of sorts for the men's soccer team -- or so he claims to anyone within earshot -- because the Warriors are undefeated as long as Seidner has worked their games, and to top it off, the team hasn't even allowed a goal.

So it came as a bit of shock, not only to Seidner, but for everyone on hand deep into the second half of Tuesday's 4-1 win over Stanton, that the Elks managed to slip one past Westcliff keeper Jesse Heredia at the 81-minute, 40-second mark.

I looked up from the livestream camera wide-eyed and immediately thought of Seidner's goal-less streak being snapped.

After the game, I asked him about it.

"Garbage time doesn't count," he responded, and then repeated: "Garbage time doesn't count."

Allow me to retort, fellow Brandon.

Oh yes, it does.

Sure, opponent goals may come at the end of 416 straight minutes of shutout soccer, up four scores and cruising to your sixth win of a nearly flawless preseason, but to defenders like the ones Head Coach Randy Dodge rolls out every night, any goal allowed is one too many.

Allow me to introduce the back row, starting on the right side and moving left with 6-0 Sr. Jonas Jansen, 6-3 Gr. Toby Squire, 5-11 Sr. Janis Hinterleitner, and 6-0 Fr. Sohaib Owais.

Then there's the man in net, keeper Jesse Heredia, a 6-1 junior out of Wilmington. Heredia has already racked up five clean sheets, and now has allowed just two goals in his last seven outings.

Coming into the season, the big question surrounding Westcliff men's soccer was how Dodge would replace the nation-leading scoring production of John Adekunle, Quentin Hornung and Wissem Obeid.

So far, the Warriors haven't had too much trouble touching up the net, but the biggest answer to the question above has actually been the back row.

It's the defense, poindexter.

So, while Seidner was chalking up Stanton's clock-dwindling score to luck, and, it's true, it did come at the end of the contest with Jansen long departed, I wasn't so sure the back row would be so charitable to itself.

I've been around dominant units before. I know a thing or two about cocksure defenders, and rarely do they consider "garbage time" a valid excuse.

I had to hear from the players themselves.

After gathering with Japhe Pleasant and taking a photo, I asked the back row to congregate so I could ask each of them the same question, but with a catch. I needed them to separate, so they didn't hear the question ahead of time, and they couldn't hear each other's answers.

Not only would the answers then illuminate the individuality of the personalities that comprise Westcliff's vaunted defense, but they also would hint to how the group works together to be so ironclad on the pitch.

And so the experiment began.

We started with the captain, Hinterleitner, who hails from Eckernforde, Germany.

A little background before we proceed. I first met Janis years ago, as he has been a regular game operations student-worker (like Seidner) for years, so we are pretty comfortable around each other. So, I wasn't surprised, and even giggled a bit to myself when I thought my question, after 90 minutes of flawless soccer, offended him.

"So, how did you feel about giving up that goal?" I asked, shoving my iPhone in his face.

OK, I admit, it's a super jerky question to ask a guy as he's raining sweat after having just won his sixth of eight preseason tries.

Regardless, I wanted an emotional response.

Janis didn't disappoint.

"I mean, if you're up 4-0 and playing defense for 80 minutes…" Hinterleitner shot back, sucking air through his teeth.

I got the emotional response. Perfect. And then Hinterleitner stuck the landing.

"It's a little bit disappointing, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. We got the W. The win. So, it doesn't matter, for me."

Now that's a great response. It's the perfect response for a leader when confronted by obnoxious media buffoons looking to gin up a viral moment or two.

But I don't believe him for a second. For Hinterleitner, garbage time most definitely counts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Janis is lying, he's not, but I know how Janis thinks, and I've seen how Janis plays. I've watched him grow from a JV recruit to a contender for Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year. Hinterleitner plays hard for 90 minutes, every game. His passes are precise, his timing impeccable. He is a perfectionist, and while he gave the right answer, his scowl belied his words – of course the goal bothered him.

They bother all great defenders – and Westcliff, which boasts a paltry 0.75 goals against average, is loaded with them.

Next up, Jansen, ever the optimist, was quick to throw away the garbage time goal, Seidner-style.

"Of course, it's a bit disappointing because we didn't concede for a lot of the game," he said. "But it had to come, and maybe it's good that it happened now, before the season starts. I feel like we can learn from it. We just have to keep it up and play like we did all those games before.

"I'm proud of the defense, and the whole team, for how we're performing right now."

Jansen, from Cologne, Germany, is another longtime Warrior, and another longtime student-worker I have gotten to know over the years. He gives a decidedly genuine response to the question, and delivers it with his trademark good nature, and positive outlook.

Teammates like Jansen are the glue that holds a team together when adversity inevitably strikes.

I have been incredibly impressed with freshman Sohaib Owais throughout the preseason.

Owais comes to Irvine via the United Arab Emirates and has fit like a glove with Westcliff's back row. Owais handles throw-ins and patrols the sideline with a veteran's touch. He's a big reason why the Warriors have been so proficient in transitioning to the top against opposing midfields.

When posed with the question, Owais kept it short, simple and provided a touch of wisdom, not surprising for someone who plays well beyond his years.  

"It wasn't good. We were up 4-0 and we barely even concede," he said. "But that's it. That's life."

Like a superstar cornerback who quickly rebounds after allowing a big play on the gridiron, Owais' philosophy is to flush the bad play. It's over. Zero sense crying over spilled milk.

It's a smart way to play, and part of the reason why Owais has been so good so early.

Jesse Heredia, the keeper, stepped to the mic next.

Heredia, like Hinterleitner, gave a leader's response to the question and I came away quite impressed.

"Yeah, you know, at my position, you never want to give up goals," Heredia said. "The team, we put in work, I'd say for what? 80 minutes? The entire game. I'll take the blame for that. That's something that I have to work on in training, and just keep on improving, so it won't happen again."

Now that's someone who has been in front of a microphone before. And particularly impressive coming from a guy who turned in a jaw-dropping, highlight-reel save about an hour earlier. Good leaders put it on their own back, pointing the finger only at themselves.

If this is any indication of Heredia's character as the leader of this soccer team, the Warriors are in good hands.

Last, but certainly not least, was Toby Squire.

Squire is hard to miss on the pitch -- he's tall and has a hair style for the ages – as a bald man, my hair envy meter bursts when I'm around the cool-as-a-cucumber grad student from -- where else -- Miami Beach.

Squire plays like a man who has been there and done that, and from the second I saw him play I was immediately comforted knowing he is patrolling the Westcliff backfield.

Not only does he play with incredible intelligence and patience, but his through-balls are often picture-perfect.

He was a chef's-kiss addition this offseason, and maybe, just maybe, Squire turned in my favorite response of the evening.

"It's tough," he said. "But it's part of the game. And I thought we've been really good these past couple of games. It's OK to get some guys in the mix who don't really play that much and get them adjusted to the level. It takes a few minutes sometimes.

"So, it's all good. We got the win. That's all that matters."

It was my first time meeting Squire, and I have to admit, he gave me movie star vibes. Remember that character from Remember the Titans who moves to Alabama from California? Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass was his name, based on a real-life man from the other side of the country who wins over everyone with a million-dollar smile and electrifying play on the field.

There you go -- that's Squire.

I can't wait to learn more.

And that goes for every member of Westcliff's back row.

What a group it is.

A fiery perfectionist, the glue, a wise-beyond-his-years newcomer, a We-First leader, and the secret-ingredient movie star.

The script practically writes itself.

We'll call it "Repeat," and the tagline will be, "This time around, defense wins championships."

I can see it now.

And one thing's for sure:

Seidner's on board.