Delaware Men's Soccer Head Coach Hennessy Tabs Trio of Europeans as Captains
August 30, 2011
O'Connor and Dineen photos courtesy of Mark Campbell, Müller photo courtesy of Mark Jordan
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NEWARK, Del. -- Off to a 1-0 start in 2011, sixth-year head men’s soccer coach Ian Hennessy has named his tri-captains for the season with one senior and two sophomores set to lead the team.
Two of the three captains, Darren O’Connor and John Dineen, hail from Ireland, while the third, Tobias Müller, comes to Delaware from Steinfurt, Germany.
“These three have a desire to continue to push the program in the right direction,” said Hennessy of his three captains. “Their knowledge of the game is impressive and they have the confidence to sort things out on the field that I am looking for in a captain.”
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O’Connor (top right), a senior from Cork and now in his third season at UD after transferring from the University of Texas at Brownsville, will once again start in the Hens’ backfield. O’Connor has played in 30 career games for Delaware, including 29 starts. He has six career points stemming from three goals, including two his first season with the Hens (2009).
O’Connor’s countryman Dineen (middle left) begins his second season with Delaware and will be looked upon to be the vocal leader on the field. Last season, Dineen joined the starting 11 late in the season, making eight starts in his 11 appearances. He made an immediate impact, helping Delaware to a 4-2-2 record in games he started. He and O’Connor anchored a defensive unit that allowed just four goals in the Hens’ final eight games of 2010 and sparked a run to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
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Starting in his first-ever game for Delaware, Müller (bottom right) brings a wealth of international experience, helping his team reach the top three in several leagues in his native Germany. Most recently, Müller helped his squad FH Münster “SOS Neuenkircher” to third place in the Westfalenliga.
The Blue Hens will look to keep winning this Thursday as they head to South Orange, N.J. to take on the Pirates of Seton Hall (0-1-0). Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The game will have special meaning for Hennessy, who graduated from the Big East school in 1990 and finished one of the best careers in program history. Hennessy still ranks second all-time in career points (134) and goals (52). Hennesy was inducted into Seton Hall’s Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 9, 2006.
