Todd Oakley breaks away from an Immaculata player during a 3-1 win at Zimmer Field in Lawrence Nov. 12, 2013. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
When looking at this year’s Notre Dame High boys’ soccer team, the main thing that jumped out at people was the explosive scoring ability of Brian Hawkins and Jacob Kwami.
But there was more to it than that.
The Irish had allowed just 14 goals and recorded 10 shutouts in 21 games, forging a 17-1-3 record as they entered the NJSIAA Non-Public South A championship game against Pingry on Nov. 14. The Irish lost the title match, 2-1.
A major cog in stingy defense was Hamilton Township resident Todd Oakley, ND’s senior stopper.
“I believe it’s safe to say Todd was easily the best defender in the county this year,” said Steinert junior midfielder Mike Fornaro. “And maybe even the state.”
Full disclosure, Fornaro and Oakley are best friends so there may be a little bias there, but the Spartan has been Oakley’s teammate for 10 years on the Medford Strikers club team. He also plays against him when ND and Steinert meet.
“If I was a player who didn’t know Todd, the first thing you notice is that as soon as you get the ball he’s going to be on your back for 80 minutes,” Fornaro said. “I’ve seen him play a lot of other teams this year, and the only word to really describe him is dominant.
“There was not one striker I saw consistently beat him throughout a game. He always seems to be in command of his back line and he’s never in a rush to get the ball forward. He understands how to control a game and keep the ball on the ground. I believe that’s a huge part of Notre Dame’s success this year, which a lot of times doesn’t make it in the papers.”
Oakley, sweeper Keegan Lago and goalie Jamie Galazin form the core of Notre Dame’s defense and, while the keeper is the recognized leader, Oakley does his part in the back.
“He’s the captain, he makes sure everyone is doing their job,” Hawkins said. “He keeps everyone back there organized. We haven’t given up many goals the entire season, so that shows what he’s doing back there. He and Jamie keep everything together.”
Oakley started his career at age 6 in the Hamilton YMCA, where they put him in goal.
Bad move.
“I hated the goal, and I moved up about three feet,” he said with a laugh. “I figured I might as well stay on defense. Don’t move me up too far. I was never fast as a young kid, so it would figure to just leave me in the back.”
From there, Oakley went from the German American Club to the Hibernians to the Strikers, where he has played for the past five years.
It was in Meford where Fornaro got to really see what Oakley is all about.
“A lot of the time it’s me and him at center back together, and that’s where I see how well he reads the game,” Fornaro said. “He always knows when to step and when to hold, and just how to play the position.”
When he arrived at Notre Dame, Oakley played for the freshman team, and then split time between varsity and JV as a sweeper in his sophomore season. Last year, he was the starting sweeper and this year he got moved to stopper, which Oakley adapted to easily since he usually played in the middle of flat back three formations.
“We actually thought we were gonna put Lago as the point man because that’s where he played as a freshman,” Irish coach Mike Perone said. “Then we said ‘No let’s switch it up’ and it’s probably the best move we made.
“Just his transformation from sophomore to junior to senior, it’s really kind of gratifying to watch somebody do what he’s done. It’s nice to see, and nobody deserves it more than Todd. He’s a great kid, he’s a leader.”
Perone felt Oakley came of age last season when he marked Hightstown’s record-setting scorer, Mohammed Sesay, and held him scoreless in the run of play (Sesay scored on a penalty kick called after a handball in the box).
“You could see a change with him when he played one-on-one against that kid,” Perone said. “He did a great job on him. You could see it there, where he actually started to change.
“His ball control has gotten better, his body’s better. He’s bodying guys off balls, he’s bringing balls down, he’s going to his left, to his right.”
Oakley agreed that the job he did on Sesay gave him a confidence boost.
“We were trying to figure out who was gonna mark him,” he said. “I just said, ‘Put me on him.’
“I’m usually the marking guy. You get a rush if they go to get the ball, and you take it off them. You get more confident as the game goes on.”
And what’s the secret to marking a man?
“A little nudge here and there to make them aggravated, and you can get them off their game,” Oakley said. “Once you get them off their game, they’re putty in your hands.”
There is actually more to it than that, of which Oakley is keenly aware.
“You have to be aware of what’s happening around you,” he said. “A lot of times you ball watch, and all of a sudden there’s a man behind you and the ball’s in the back of the net. You have to be aware of what’s going on around you and keep your head on a swivel.”
Instincts are also a big part of it.
“You have to learn how to read the game,” Oakley continued. “You can’t react, you have to anticipate. If you just react the ball is gonna end up past you and then, you know, it’s on goal again.”
The one opponent Oakley could anticipate more than any other this year was Fornaro, thanks to a decade together.
“We’ve learned how each other play so during the course of that game I could tell he knew what I was going to do with the ball at my feet,” Fornaro said. “At the same time, I knew exactly how he was going to defend me. We came to a mutual agreement that he won the ball off of me as many times as I beat him, so it was I tie, but I guess he really won because he kept a zero on the board.”
It was a fun time for both players, as it was the first time Oakley was responsible for Fornaro.
“We basically had a conversation for 80 minutes,” Oakley said. “It was pretty interesting.”
“I’d have to say that was my favorite game of the year,” Fornaro said. “When you saw that game, you could see me and Todd talking, which I’m sure a lot of people thought was trash talk, but we were honestly just cracking jokes the entire time.”
Anything that could be printed?
“No,” Oakley said with a grin. “Not really.”
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