Forward Devin Bening (sophomore) had two shots and scored one goal against Hope International during the men’s soccer game Sept. 7. Bening also scored two goals out of seven shots against Masters University Sept. 12.
Rod Lafaurie, head coach of the men’s soccer team, said Bening is a valuable contributor to the team.
“He’s a younger guy, but he’s also a hard worker,” Lafaurie said. “People respect and value him as a human being.”
Bening said what drives him to be a better athlete and teammate is his love of the game.
“I try to play with passion, desire and creativity,” Bening said. “At the end of the day I’m playing soccer because I’m in love with the sport.”
Bening said he hopes his athletic career will lead to him becoming the top goalscorer in the SCIAC.
Lafaurie said he envisions Bening achieving that goal.
“I think with continued hard work, Devin can be the player of the year … for sure,” Lafaurie said. “I don’t think it’s beyond Devin to score 15 goals in a season. I don’t think it is beyond him to even get more than that.”
Lafaurie said one of Bening’s strengths is his consistency in attacking each practice and training session with as much intensity as possible.
“He takes every practice intensely, he takes every training session intensely, he takes every game intensely,” Lafaurie said. “His mindset is, ‘If we’re going to do this, we’re gonna do it right and we’re gonna do it to the best of our ability.'”
Lafaurie said Bening’s aggressive style of play makes him an incredible asset to the team.
“He’s like a bowling ball on the field […] he’s a guy that runs hard until he can’t run anymore,” Lafaurie said. “He’s [the] guy that’s gonna make it really hard on defenders. He wants to run at them, he wants to run behind them, he wants to run past them.”
Alessia Sacchi
Midfielder Alessia Sacchi (junior) scored against Westcliff University Sept. 12. Assistant Athletic Director and Women’s Soccer Head Coach Colm McFeely said Sacchi is a strong, technical player and a major contributor to the team.
“[She has] good physicality,” McFeely said. “[She] works hard, gets up and down the field [and has] good vision for the game.”
Sacchi said her love of the game allows her to push herself and her teammates.
“I put my best foot forward for myself and my team,” Sacchi said. “[I] give all I can. The [goal] is winning, but as long as we’re playing good soccer, having fun doing it and working our hardest, that’s all I can ask for.”
Sacchi said she injured her hip during the game against Westcliff and is now focusing on recovery, which has changed the way she approaches her role as one of the team captains.
“I do think trying my hardest to get to a point where I’m back on the field is important,” Sacchi said.
As a captain, Sacchi said she also strives to support her teammates in other ways, such as setting up warmups or cheering them on during the game.
According to McFeely, Sacchi is a captain that demands the best from her teammates.
“You need that on a team, [someone] who wants to drive the players. That’s her personality,” McFeely said.
Sacchi said her determination to motivate her teammates on the field comes from a need to perform her best.
“In terms of college, I want to perform at the highest level that I can but enjoy myself while doing it,” Sacchi said. “I think a lot of times you can lose your love for the game or lose yourself when it gets too real. I want to make sure that I’m always going to have the same love for it.”
Contact Mars Gallati at gallati@oxy.edu
