Matt Dina, Appoquinimink soccer
MATT DINA, senior, Appoquinimink soccer
THE WEEK: Helped control the midfield as the Jaguars, ranked fourth in Division I, scored twice late for a 2-0 victory over Caravel – Division II’s top-ranked team – last Tuesday.
THE COACH SAYS: “He is the perfect kid to coach, perfect player,” Appoquinimink coach Adam Bear said. “He’s getting looks from D-I schools. … His GPA is around 4.0. He does everything right in school, on the field, off the field. He’s just the perfect player to coach.”
THE NEW ROLE: A returning All-State First XI selection, Dina moved from center back to midfield this season to help the Jaguars generate more offense. “This role now is more focused on keeping the ball, advancing it forward, trying to get opportunities for the outside mids and our strikers to score,” he said. “These past seven games have been working out really well for me and the rest of the guys.”
THE TRANSITION: “When you get in the midfield, you kind of have to play in a 360. You’ve got people coming from all directions,” Bear said. “When you’re a center back, you’re just kind of playing forward. The first few games were a little transition for him, but he’s getting better and better.”
THE LEADERSHIP: With the game scoreless in the 64th minute, Caravel goalkeeper Chase Corbitt made a huge save on Dina’s penalty kick. But Appo kept the pressure on, and Stephane Ratsimbazafy scored a minute later for a 1-0 lead. “As captain, you can’t let your head go down because if your head goes down, everybody else will follow suit,” Dina said. “We just need everybody going 110 percent every single minute. Obviously, it worked out a minute later.”
THE CLASSROOM: Dina’s favorite subjects are animal science and biology.
THE FUTURE: Dina has received recruiting interest from Division I soccer programs, and he already has a major in mind. “I want to go into studying veterinary medicine,” he said. “Next semester I’ll be shadowing veterinarians, getting a feel of what that is before I go to college.”
– Brad Myers
Send Athlete of the Week nominations to bmyers@delawareonline.com.