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University of Massachusets Athletics
O'Quinn a Model for the Entire Soccer Team
October 11, 2001 | Men's Soccer
By MATTHEW BENCAL
The Maroon & White
Championship caliber teams are built around principles such as hard work, discipline, consistency and desire. Coincidentally, the top athletes in sports also exhibit all of these qualities. Senior goaltender Bryan O'Quinn envelops all of these principles, plus a passionate desire for self-improvement, which has made him one of the best goaltenders in the Atlantic 10 and the cornerstone of the UMass soccer program.
The co-captain has all the intangibles that it takes to be a successful goalkeeper in NCAA Division I soccer. According to head coach Sam Koch, he also might have what it takes to play at the next level in competitive soccer. But what O'Quinn doesn't have is size. The 5'10, 170-pound goalkeeper has been told over and over again throughout his soccer career that he is too small to be a successful keeper.
So O'Quinn, in his plight to become the best keeper possible, found ways to make up for his lack of size. He's quicker than most other keepers. He's smarter than most other players. He does the little things that make average players good and good players great. And over his four year career, he has earned the respect of his teammates and his coaching staff.
"He's a quiet leader," Koch said. "He'll step forward and say what needs to be said. But he does a lot of his leading by what he does on the field. He's not an extremely vocal person, but when he does speak his mind, people really listen, making him even more effective. "Goalkeepers are a different breed of human," Koch added. "There aren't a lot of people who want to be goalkeeper. He brings a lot of confidence to the team, just by his demeanor, his physical ability, and his leadership verbally."
Personal records are meaningless to O'Quinn, who concentrates on making himself the best he can be so his team has the best possible chances of success. And although O'Quinn won't hesitate to admit he's not perfect, he's pretty close. With a 2-0 win over the University of New Hampshire on Sept. 19, O'Quinn moved into fifth place on the all-time shutout list with 10.
The Western Mass product (Feeding Hills) tallied seven shutouts last year, six of those in Atlantic 10 competition, and led the conference in goals against average at 0.66 against A-10 opponents. But O'Quinn's interest is in the win/ loss column, not his stat line.
"I'm not really interested in shutouts or goals against average," O'Quinn said. "It's nice, it's something to show the kids when you get older. I can say, 'Hey, your Dad was actually good at something.' But to me, it's more about winning. I don't care what the score is, I just want to play well and win."
O'Quinn didn't get the starting nod in the net until his junior year. His freshman season was a learning experience, as O'Quinn knew coming into the season that he wasn't going to see much, if any, action. O'Quinn also knew that if he ever wanted to find himself starting in the net for UMass, he was going to have to pick up as much of Koch's system as he could.
"My freshman year was very much a learning process," O'Quinn said. "I think I learned more here during my freshman year than I did in the first 17 years of my soccer career. I tried to do my best to learn as much as I could. I didn't complain about not playing because I knew I wasn't at the level I needed to be at the time. I just worked as hard as I could to learn the game."
The turning point in O'Quinn's career may have occurred during his sophomore season. Coming into the season, O'Quinn knew that he was capable of being a reliable goal stopper in the net. He was in good shape, his confidence was high, and he had some experience under his belt after appearing in three games as a freshman. But Koch chose to play experience over youth, as fifth year senior goalkeeper Todd Fowler saw the bulk of the action in the net instead of the young and untested sophomore.
"I thought my sophomore year my skills were much better," O'Quinn said. "I thought I had my best pre-season. I felt comfortable, I felt like everything I was doing was right. There really wasn't any reason I shouldn't have been starting. But it was beyond my control."
O'Quinn spent the season competing with Fowler for playing time. The intra-team rivalry was a positive experience for both players, as they treated each other with respect and maintained a professional and respectable relationship. That rivalry also improved the playing abilities of each player.
"We pushed each other as hard as we could at practice everyday," O'Quinn said. "We both knew we were fighting for the spot. Everyday in training, it was me versus him. And I think that made us a better team, at least at the goaltender position, because we both worked so hard. It made both of us better keepers."
UMass finished the 1999 campaign at 13-7, with O'Quinn seeing action in five of the Minutemen's contests. O'Quinn recorded the first shutout of his career with a 1-0 overtime win at Hartford on Sept. 7.
"When it came down the playoffs, coach decided to take the senior and the captain [Fowler] over me," O'Quinn said. "Not to say that I wasn't upset about it, but it fired me up for the next season so that I would never be put in that position again."
UMass lost in the first round of the A-10 tourney to the University of Rhode Island, 7-0, and although it was a disappointing end to a successful year for Koch's squad, O'Quinn now had a newfound motivation to combine with his talent, which would be the equation for one of the A-10's best keepers.
O'Quinn started in goal his junior year, and he didn't let anyone down. He played every minute of the season in goal for the Minutemen, taking full advantage of his opportunity on the field. He led the A-10 in GAA (0.91) and his seven shutouts were second most by a Minuteman in one season. He led the 2000 UMass squad to a 12-6-2 record and a share of the regular season co-championship.
"The defense we had that year was fantastic," O'Quinn said. "We just had great players all around us. Last year, we let up 19 goals, which is the fewest in school history. It really wasn't me doing anything spectacular, it was just filling the role that needed to be filled and playing in the system."
UMass lost in the semifinal round of the A-10 tournament for the second year in a row to URI, 2-1, in overtime.
"We didn't step onto the field until about 10 o'clock at night," O'Quinn, "and it was freezing out-it was just ridiculous. It was a great game, it was a great feeling being part of that game because there was so much passion in the air. We beat them in the regular season and we figured whoever would win the semifinal game was going to win the tournament. It ended up being that they won, then they ended up winning the tournament. It was a battle."
With a complete season of experience under his belt and three years in Koch's system, O'Quinn knows it's now or never if he wants his 2001 team to reach the ultimate goal-which is an A-10 championship and a trip to the highly coveted NCAA tournament.
"I just want to win games," O'Quinn said. "I want to get to a level that we've never got to at UMass. We've never made the NCAA tournament, and I'm hoping that this is the year we can do it. We really do have the talent and we just need to bring it together as a whole team."
At the onset of his senior season, O'Quinn knew, as all senior athletes know, that the beginning of the end is upon them. With the non-conference portion of the schedule behind them, the 2001 edition of UMass soccer began A-10 play with a 4-2 overall record.
And O'Quinn is once again having a solid year for himself, with two shutouts and a remarkable 1.18 goals against average in the six non-conference games. O'Quinn's last two games were both shutouts (New Hampshire and Maine), and the senior co-captain will look to keep that momentum going against his conference foes.
"I'm very pleased with the way he's playing now," Koch said. "He has helped himself. He has made himself the keeper he is."
The last chapter in O'Quinn's UMass career is being written each day that the senior goalkeeper awakes. No one knows how O'Quinn's journey will end, but if he has anything to say about it, the Feeding Hills native won't rest until the 2001 edition of UMass soccer has gone where no UMass team has gone before - the NCAA tournament.
The Maroon & White
Championship caliber teams are built around principles such as hard work, discipline, consistency and desire. Coincidentally, the top athletes in sports also exhibit all of these qualities. Senior goaltender Bryan O'Quinn envelops all of these principles, plus a passionate desire for self-improvement, which has made him one of the best goaltenders in the Atlantic 10 and the cornerstone of the UMass soccer program.
The co-captain has all the intangibles that it takes to be a successful goalkeeper in NCAA Division I soccer. According to head coach Sam Koch, he also might have what it takes to play at the next level in competitive soccer. But what O'Quinn doesn't have is size. The 5'10, 170-pound goalkeeper has been told over and over again throughout his soccer career that he is too small to be a successful keeper.
So O'Quinn, in his plight to become the best keeper possible, found ways to make up for his lack of size. He's quicker than most other keepers. He's smarter than most other players. He does the little things that make average players good and good players great. And over his four year career, he has earned the respect of his teammates and his coaching staff.
"He's a quiet leader," Koch said. "He'll step forward and say what needs to be said. But he does a lot of his leading by what he does on the field. He's not an extremely vocal person, but when he does speak his mind, people really listen, making him even more effective. "Goalkeepers are a different breed of human," Koch added. "There aren't a lot of people who want to be goalkeeper. He brings a lot of confidence to the team, just by his demeanor, his physical ability, and his leadership verbally."
Personal records are meaningless to O'Quinn, who concentrates on making himself the best he can be so his team has the best possible chances of success. And although O'Quinn won't hesitate to admit he's not perfect, he's pretty close. With a 2-0 win over the University of New Hampshire on Sept. 19, O'Quinn moved into fifth place on the all-time shutout list with 10.
The Western Mass product (Feeding Hills) tallied seven shutouts last year, six of those in Atlantic 10 competition, and led the conference in goals against average at 0.66 against A-10 opponents. But O'Quinn's interest is in the win/ loss column, not his stat line.
"I'm not really interested in shutouts or goals against average," O'Quinn said. "It's nice, it's something to show the kids when you get older. I can say, 'Hey, your Dad was actually good at something.' But to me, it's more about winning. I don't care what the score is, I just want to play well and win."
O'Quinn didn't get the starting nod in the net until his junior year. His freshman season was a learning experience, as O'Quinn knew coming into the season that he wasn't going to see much, if any, action. O'Quinn also knew that if he ever wanted to find himself starting in the net for UMass, he was going to have to pick up as much of Koch's system as he could.
"My freshman year was very much a learning process," O'Quinn said. "I think I learned more here during my freshman year than I did in the first 17 years of my soccer career. I tried to do my best to learn as much as I could. I didn't complain about not playing because I knew I wasn't at the level I needed to be at the time. I just worked as hard as I could to learn the game."
The turning point in O'Quinn's career may have occurred during his sophomore season. Coming into the season, O'Quinn knew that he was capable of being a reliable goal stopper in the net. He was in good shape, his confidence was high, and he had some experience under his belt after appearing in three games as a freshman. But Koch chose to play experience over youth, as fifth year senior goalkeeper Todd Fowler saw the bulk of the action in the net instead of the young and untested sophomore.
"I thought my sophomore year my skills were much better," O'Quinn said. "I thought I had my best pre-season. I felt comfortable, I felt like everything I was doing was right. There really wasn't any reason I shouldn't have been starting. But it was beyond my control."
O'Quinn spent the season competing with Fowler for playing time. The intra-team rivalry was a positive experience for both players, as they treated each other with respect and maintained a professional and respectable relationship. That rivalry also improved the playing abilities of each player.
"We pushed each other as hard as we could at practice everyday," O'Quinn said. "We both knew we were fighting for the spot. Everyday in training, it was me versus him. And I think that made us a better team, at least at the goaltender position, because we both worked so hard. It made both of us better keepers."
UMass finished the 1999 campaign at 13-7, with O'Quinn seeing action in five of the Minutemen's contests. O'Quinn recorded the first shutout of his career with a 1-0 overtime win at Hartford on Sept. 7.
"When it came down the playoffs, coach decided to take the senior and the captain [Fowler] over me," O'Quinn said. "Not to say that I wasn't upset about it, but it fired me up for the next season so that I would never be put in that position again."
UMass lost in the first round of the A-10 tourney to the University of Rhode Island, 7-0, and although it was a disappointing end to a successful year for Koch's squad, O'Quinn now had a newfound motivation to combine with his talent, which would be the equation for one of the A-10's best keepers.
O'Quinn started in goal his junior year, and he didn't let anyone down. He played every minute of the season in goal for the Minutemen, taking full advantage of his opportunity on the field. He led the A-10 in GAA (0.91) and his seven shutouts were second most by a Minuteman in one season. He led the 2000 UMass squad to a 12-6-2 record and a share of the regular season co-championship.
"The defense we had that year was fantastic," O'Quinn said. "We just had great players all around us. Last year, we let up 19 goals, which is the fewest in school history. It really wasn't me doing anything spectacular, it was just filling the role that needed to be filled and playing in the system."
UMass lost in the semifinal round of the A-10 tournament for the second year in a row to URI, 2-1, in overtime.
"We didn't step onto the field until about 10 o'clock at night," O'Quinn, "and it was freezing out-it was just ridiculous. It was a great game, it was a great feeling being part of that game because there was so much passion in the air. We beat them in the regular season and we figured whoever would win the semifinal game was going to win the tournament. It ended up being that they won, then they ended up winning the tournament. It was a battle."
With a complete season of experience under his belt and three years in Koch's system, O'Quinn knows it's now or never if he wants his 2001 team to reach the ultimate goal-which is an A-10 championship and a trip to the highly coveted NCAA tournament.
"I just want to win games," O'Quinn said. "I want to get to a level that we've never got to at UMass. We've never made the NCAA tournament, and I'm hoping that this is the year we can do it. We really do have the talent and we just need to bring it together as a whole team."
At the onset of his senior season, O'Quinn knew, as all senior athletes know, that the beginning of the end is upon them. With the non-conference portion of the schedule behind them, the 2001 edition of UMass soccer began A-10 play with a 4-2 overall record.
And O'Quinn is once again having a solid year for himself, with two shutouts and a remarkable 1.18 goals against average in the six non-conference games. O'Quinn's last two games were both shutouts (New Hampshire and Maine), and the senior co-captain will look to keep that momentum going against his conference foes.
"I'm very pleased with the way he's playing now," Koch said. "He has helped himself. He has made himself the keeper he is."
The last chapter in O'Quinn's UMass career is being written each day that the senior goalkeeper awakes. No one knows how O'Quinn's journey will end, but if he has anything to say about it, the Feeding Hills native won't rest until the 2001 edition of UMass soccer has gone where no UMass team has gone before - the NCAA tournament.
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