To look at the scoresheet, there wasn’t much to see in the numbers.
The 0-0 result between Loyola men’s soccer and the University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 19, 2023, was Loyola’s sixth draw in its first seven games. The Greyhounds outshot the Quakers, 9-2, in the first half but couldn’t break the deadlock.
Despite the disappointing finish, the game was the turning point of the season in the eyes of freshman defender Chris Ogor, a Manchester, England, native who helped anchor the back line of a team that was ravaged by injuries but still managed to lock up the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League playoffs.
“We were missing some good players but after the UPenn game, we started clicking and playing better football,” Ogor, 18, said. “We just couldn’t really score, but our defense was pretty good.”
After the UPenn game, Loyola ripped off three straight Patriot League victories and only lost one game in the final seven. By season’s end, the Greyhounds were 7-3-8 and 6-1-2 in conference play.
Just before a disappointing Patriot League playoff exit to Lafayette, Loyola was showered with end-of-season awards, including five players named to all-league teams. Ogor was named Rookie of the Year.
The fourth Greyhound to win the award, Ogor appeared in all but one game and started seven Patriot League games. He was a key piece on the Loyola back line, which allowed the fewest goals in the conference (15) and was tied for the second-most shutouts in the league (7).
Ogor’s journey to Baltimore was an unusual one. He was plucked from Birmingham City’s U18 squad by Loyola assistant head coach Jamie Darvill, who serves as the international recruitment guru for longtime head coach Steve Nichols.
Darvill, a Loyola alum and Englishman with deep ties to Chelsea and Liverpool of the English Premier League, was enlisted to find help for the back line after defender Kyle Dengler suffered a torn ACL toward the end of the 2022 season.
In Ogor, the assistant coach found the ideal fit.
“[Ogor] checked every box we were looking for in a defender at Loyola,” Darvill said. “It was important to me that he not just have athletic and physical capabilities, but his game intelligence, ability to be comfortable with the ball at his feet are big features of how we play and press. It was a massive fit for that criteria across the board.”
When Ogor arrived in July 2023, he first had to adjust to the Maryland heat and humidity. That was followed by a crash course in the rough-and-tumble college game with its physical play and uneven substitution rules.
Darvill could relate to Ogor. When he arrived at Loyola from London in 2006, it took him a while to find his footing.
“Coming over myself, I understand that adjustment period. My best stuff didn’t come until sophomore year on,” said Darvill, who helped Loyola qualify for the NCAA Tournament in his last three college seasons. “I have a certain level of patience, perseverance for a young man living 3,000 miles away from home in a brand new country. I was confident in his quality.”
It took about two months, between preseason training and the first five weeks of the season, for Ogor to find his groove. He didn’t start any of the preseason matches, but ahead of the season opener against North Carolina, Nichols went with his best starting 11 and plugged in Ogor.
“He was brilliant in that game. Nothing came off his side,” Nichols said. “He was Patriot League Rookie of the Year, but he could have been Defender of the Year. He’s as good as he wants to be.”
As the team searched for cohesion, the injuries began to pile up. By year’s end, four scholarship players went down with season-ending knee tears: defender Jake Mayer, midfielder Richie Nichols and forwards Caden Stafford and Cole McAvoy.
That left the team with far fewer attacking options. And without Mayer, the defense needed a consistent presence. Enter Ogor, who played at least 75 minutes in nine of the team’s last 11 games, including a 110-minute performance against Lafayette in the playoffs.
Ogor’s passing in particular stood out to the coaching staff.
“I’ve coached [former US Men’s National Team defender] Oguchi Onyewu, and this kid breaks lines as good as anyone,” said Nichols, who is in his 11th season with the program. “He will dribble around, break one or two lines of pressure that most American kids can’t.”
Ogor said he appreciated winning an award for his play but as his own biggest critic, he knows there’s more growth in his game.
“For me, I criticize myself a lot. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I could be a lot better,” Ogor said, “even though I won Rookie of the Year. Hopefully this year I will be better.”
Ahead of the team’s season opener at NJIT on Aug. 22, the expectations around the team are palpable. Ten of 11 starters are returning. All those injured last year will be back.
Nichols has compiled one of the most difficult schedules in the country to test his team. The slate includes road games against the three teams responsible for the last four NCAA national championships: Marshall (2020) on Sept. 2, Clemson (2021, 2023) on Sept. 10 and Syracuse (2022) on Oct. 15.
“I get these kids because I play this schedule,” Nichols said. “Those kids don’t come to [Loyola] if we don’t.”
Ogor trained in his native England with a group of professionals this summer. His fitness is far above what it was a year ago, he said, and his focus has been on sharpening his defensive and technical skills.
The opportunity is within reach for Ogor and his teammates, who are nearly all healthy and have been preparing relentlessly for a grueling schedule against tough competition. Asked what the goal is this season, Ogor’s response was four words: Win the Patriot League.
Photo Credit: Larry French
Issue 288: August/September 2024
Originally published Aug. 14, 2024